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22  1941 


BX  9211  .S82  H63  1908 
Hoqe,  Arista, 
The  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  Staunton 


Virginia 


MRS.  WILLIAM  ELLIOTT  BAKER 

Guest  of  honor  at  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  Staunton,  Va. 


;^^ 


'/ 


V 


x^ 


JAN  22  1941 


^ 


Jf  irsit  Jresftipterian  Cijurcf) 


Staunton,  Virginia 


MATERIAL  GATHERP:D  AND  ARRANGED 

By 

ARISTA  HOGE 


Press  of  CALDWELL-SITES  COMPANY 

STAUNTON.    VIRGINIA 
1908 


^^. 

A 


1  sa^^ 


Copvi  ii(ht  i')n<)  by 
CHARLES  Rl'SSh.l.L  CA  I.nU'EI.I. 

/'iihlislii'd  Maiih,  ii)oij 


r/7£^  FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH 

STAUNTON,  VIRGINIA 


CHAPTER  I 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  BEVERLEY  MANOR,  IN  THE  BACK 
PARTS  OF  VIRGINIA 

THE  original  settlers  of  Augusta  County  were  natives 
of  the  Province  of  Ulster,  Ireland,  of  Scotch 
decent,  and  therefore  they  and-  their  descendants 
are  called  * '  Scotch-Irish. ' '  For  a  number  of  years  a  very 
few  people  of  any  other  race  came  to  the  Valley.  They 
generally  landed  on  the  Delaware  river,  and  gradually 
pushed  their  way  up  the  Valley,  through  the  wilderness. 
They  did  not  come  to  build  towns,  but  to  acquire  lands  and 
open  up  farms,  and  hence  all  the  towns  in  the  Valley  are 
of  comparatively  recent  date.  No  such  place  as  Staunton 
was  known  until  the  courthouse  was  located  here  in  1745, 
at  least  thirteen  years  after  the  surrounding  country  was 
quite  thickly  settled. 

With  scarcely  an  exception,  the  immigrants  were 
Presbyterians,  as  far  as  they  professed  any  religion  at  all. 
Soon  after  they  provided  shelters  for  their  families,  they 
erected  log  houses  in  which  to  meet  for  the  worship  of  God, 
first  at  Tinkling  Spring  and  near  the  site  of  the  present 
Stone  Church.  The  latter  was  known  from  early  times  as 
"Augusta  Church. "  The  first  settled  minister  of  the  two 
congregations  mentioned  was  the  Rev.  John  Craig.  The 
Presbyterians  at  and  near  Staunton  were  connected  with 
Tinkling  Spring. 

[3] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

In  1737  "a  supplication"  was  laid  before  the  Presbytery 
of  Donegal,  in  Pennsylvania,  "from  the  people  of  Bever- 
ley Manor,  in  the  back  parts  of  Virginia,"  requesting 
ministerial  supplies.  The  request  could  not  be  granted 
immediately  ;  but  in  the  next  year  the  Rev.  James  Ander- 
son, sent  by  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  visited  the  settle- 
ment, and  in  1738  preached  the  first  regular  sermon  ever 
delivered  in  this  section  of  the  country  at  the  home  of  John 
Lewis. 

The  Presbyterians  of  Augusta  continued  their  ' '  sup- 
plication ' '  to  the  Presbytery  of  Donegal  for  a  pastor  to 
reside  among  them.  In  1739  they  first  applied  for  the 
services  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thompson,  who  came  and 
preached  for  a  time.  Next  they  presented  a  call  to  the 
Rev.  John  Craig. 

Mr.  Craig  was  born  in  1709,  in  county  Antrim,  Ireland, 
and  was  educated  at  Edinburgh.  He  landed  at  Newcastle, 
upon  the  Delaware,  August  17,  1734,  and  was  licensed  by 
the  Presbytery  to  preach,  in  1737.  The  date  of  his  arrival 
here  is  somewhat  uncertain.  In  a  narrative  written  by 
him,  towards  the  close  of  his  life,  he  says  :  "  Being  invited 
by  Presbytery,  I  entered  on  trials,  and  was  licensed  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Donegal,  1737.  I  was  sent  to  a  new  settle- 
ment in  Virginia  of  our  own  country  people,  near  300  miles 
distant. ' '  This  would  seem  to  imply  that  he  came  in  1737, 
or  soon  thereafter  ;  but  from  the  fact  that  the  people 
applied  for  Mr.  Thompson  in  1739  and  for  Mr.  Craig  after- 
wards, the  latter  could  not  have  come  till  several  years 
after  his  licensure.  The  minute  of  the  Presbytery,  in 
September,  1740,  is  as  follows  '•  ' '  Robert  Doak  and  Daniel 
Dennison,  from  Virginia,  declared  in  the  name  of  the  con- 
gregation of  Shenandoah  their  adhesion  to  the  call  for- 
merly presented  to  Mr.  Craig, "  and  on  the  next  day  he  was 
' '  set  apart  for  the  work  of  the  gospel  ministry  in  the  south 
part  of  Beverley's  Manor."  He,  therefore,  could  hardly 
have  come  here  before  September,  1740,  unless,  possibly 

[4] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

on  a  visit  in  1739,  or  early  in  1740  ;  and  other  circumstances 
indicate  that  he  arrived  about  the  first  of  October,  1740. 
On  February  26,  1741,  he  appeared  at  Orange  County 
Court  (the  Court  of  Augusta  County  not  having  opened) 
and  qualified  according  to  law  to  officiate  as  a  dissenting 
minister. 

Mr.  Craig's  residence  was  on  Lewis'  Creek,  about  four 
miles  northeast  of  Staunton.  As  is  generally  known,  he 
was  the  founder  of  the  two  congregations  of  Tinkling 
Spring  and  Augusta,  and  for  some  years  ministered  to 
both.  His  parish  was  about  thirty  miles  long  and  thirty 
miles  broad.  Referring  to  the  country  to  which  he  had 
come,  he  says  :  "  The  place  was  a  new  settlement,  without 
a  place  of  worship,  or  any  church  order,  a  wilderness  in 
the  proper  sense,  and  a  few  Christian  settlers  in  it,  with 
numbers  of  the  heathens  traveling  among  us,  but  gener- 
ally civil,  though  some  persons  were  murdered  by  them 
about  that  time.  They  march  about  in  small  companies 
from  fifteen  to  twenty,  sometimes  more  or  less.  They  must 
be  supplied  at  every  house  they  call  at  with  victuals,  or  they 
become  their  own  stewards  and  cooks  and  spare  nothing 
they  choose  to  eat  and  drink." 

It  is  said  that  Mr.  Craig  generally  walked  the  five  miles 
from  his  residence  to  the  church.  His  morning  service 
continued  from  10  o'clock  till  after  12.  The  afternoon 
service  lasted  from  1  o'clock  till  sunset,  and  it  was  some- 
times so  late  at  the  close  that  the  clerk  found  it  difficult 
to  read  the  last  psalm.  Many  of  the  people  came  long  dis- 
tances, and  had  to  cross  Middle  River,  coming  and  going, 
where  the  ford  was  somewhat  unsafe.  They  petitioned 
the  preacher  to  dismiss  them  at  an  earlier  hour,  so  that 
they  might  make  the  crossing  by  daylight ;  but  he  would 
not  consent.  His  only  printed  sermon  is  from  second 
Samuel,  XXIII :  5— "Although  my  house  be  not  so  with 
God,  yet  he  hath  made  with  me  an  everlasting  covenant, 
ordered  in  all  things,  and  sure  ;  for  this  is  all  my  salvation, 

[5] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

and  all  my  desire,  although  he  make  it  not  to  grow." 
Being  in  the  old-fashioned  "exhaustive  method,"  it  con- 
tains fifty-five  divisions  and  sub-divisions. 

Mr.  Craig  v^as  succeeded  at  Augusta  Church  by  the 
Rev.  William  Wilson,  and  at  Tinkling  Spring  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  James  Waddell.  The  latter  came  to  Augusta  from 
Lancaster  county,  in  May,  1776,  and  resided  till  1784  on 
his  plantation,  called  Springhill,  south  of  Waynesboro. 
He  preached  occasionly  in  Staunton,  but  v^hether  in  the 
courthouse  or  the  Parish  Church,  otherwise  vacant  and 
unused,  is  not  known.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  he  was 
formally  invited  by  people  living  in  Staunton  to  officiate 
regularly  there  ;  but,  having  determined  to  remove  east  of 
the  Blue  Ridge,  he  declined  the  call.  His  successor  at 
Tinkling  Spring  was  the  Rev.  John  McCue,  who  also 
preached  now  and  then,  if  not  at  stated  intervals,  in 
Staunton. 

"THE  BLIND  PREACHER" 

The  following  graphic  account  of  the  pulpit  eloquence 
and  forensic  power  of  the  Reverend  James  Waddell,  D. 
D.,  is  given  by  William  Wirt,  in  "The  British  Spy."  Mr. 
Wirt's  distinction  as  a  writer  is  largely  based  upon  this 
famous  passage,  although,  among  his  other  literary  works, 
he  was  the  author  of  a  "Life  of  Patrick  Henry." 

It  was  one  Sunday,  as  I  traveled  through  the  County  of  Orange, 
that  my  eye  was  caught  by  a  cluster  of  horses  tied  near  a  ruinous,  old 
wooden  house,  in  the  forest,  not  far  from  the  road  side.  Having 
frequently  seen  such  objects  before,  in  travelling  through  these 
states,  I  had  no  difficulty  in  understanding  that  this  was  a  place  of 
religious  worship. 

Devotion  alone  should  have  stopped  me,  to  join  in  the  duties  of 
the  congregation;  but  I  must  confess,  that  curiosity,  to  hear  the 
preacher  of  such  a  wilderness,  was  not  the  least  of  my  motives.  On 
entering,  I  was  struck  with  his  preternatural  appearance;  he  was  a 
tall  and  very  spare  old  man,  his  head,  which  was  covered  with  a  white 
linen  cap,  his  shrivelled  hands,  and  his  voice,  were  all  shaking  under 
the  influence  of  a  palsy,  and  a  few  moments  ascertained  to  me  that 
he  was  perfectly  bHnd. 

[6] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


The  first  emotions  which  touched  my  breast,  were  those  of 
mingled  pity  and  veneration.  But  ah!  sacred  God!  how  soon  were  all 
my  feelings  changed!  The  lips  of  Plato  were  never  more  worthy  of  a 
prognostic  swarm  of  bees,  than  were  the  lips  of  this  holy  man!  It 
was  a  day  of  the  administration  of  the  sacrament,  and  his  subject,  of 
course,  was  the  passion  of  our  Saviour.  I  had  heard  the  subject 
handled  a  thousand  times;  I  had  thought  it  exhausted  long  ago.  Little 
did  I  suppose,  that  in  the  wild  woods  of  America,  I  was  to  meet  with  a 
man  whose  eloquence  would  give  to  this  topic  a  new  and  more  sub- 
lime pathos,  than  I  had  ever  before  witnessed. 

As  he  descended  from  the  pulpit,  to  distribute  the  mystic  symbols, 
there  was  a  peculiar,  a  more  than  human  solemnity  in  his  air  and 
manner  which  made  my  blood  run  cold,  and  my  whole  frame  shiver. 

He  then  drew  a  picture  of  the  sufferings  of  our  Saviour;  his  trial 
before  Pilate,  his  ascent  up  Calvary,  his  crucifixion,  and  his  death.  I 
knew  the  whole  history,  but  never,  until  then,  had  I  heard  the  cir- 
cumstances so  selected,  so  arranged,  so  coloured!  It  was  all  new: 
and  I  seemed  to  have  heard  it  for  the  first  time  in  my  life.  His 
enunciation  was  so  deliberate,  that  his  voice  trembled  on  every  syllable, 
and  every  heart  in  the  assembly  trembled  in  unison.  His '  peculiar 
phrases  had  that  force  of  description  that  the  original  scene  appeared 
to  be,  at  that  moment,  actmg  before  our  eyes.  We  saw  the  very 
faces  of  the  Jews:  the  staring,  frightful  distortions  of  malice  and 
rage.  We  saw  the  buffet;  my  soul  kindled  with  a  flame  of  indigna- 
tion; and  my  hands  were  involuntarily  and  convulsively  clinched. 

But  when  he  came  to  touch  on  the  patience,  the  forgiving  meek- 
ness of  our  Saviour;  when  he  drew,  to  the  life,  his  blessed  eyes 
streaming  in  tears  to  heaven;  his  voice  breathing  to  God  a  soft  and 
gentle  prayer  of  pardon  on  his  enemies,  "Father,  forgive  them,  for 
they  know  not  what  they  do"— the  voice  of  the  preacher,  which  had 
all  along  faltered,  grew  fainter  and  fainter,  until  his  utterance  being 
entirely  obstructed  by  the  force  of  his  feelings,  he  raised  his  handker- 
chief to  his  eyes,  and  burst  into  a  loud  and  irrepressible  flood  of  grief. 
The  effect  is  inconceivable.  The  whole  house  resounded  with  the 
mingled  groans,  and  sobs,  and  shrieks  of  the  congregatidn. 

It  was  sometime  before  the  tumult  had  subsided,  so  far  as  to 
permit  him  to  proceed.  Indeed,  judging  by  the  usual,  but  fallacious 
standard  of  my  own  weakness,  I  began  to  be  very  uneasy  for  the  situa- 
tion of  the  preacher.  For  I  could  not  conceive,  how  he  would  be  able 
to  let  his  audience  down  from  the  height  to  which  he  had  wound  them, 
without  impairing  the  solemnity  and  dignity  of  his  subject,  or  perhaps 
shocking  them  by  the   abruptness  of  the   fall.     But— no;  the  descent 


[7] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


was  as  beautiful  and  sublime,  as  the  elevation  had  been  rapid  and 
enthusiastic. 

The  first  sentence,  with  which  he  broke  the  awful  silence  was  a 
quotation  from  Rousseau,  "Socrates  died  like  a  philosopher,  but  Jesus 
Christ,  like  a  God!" 

1  despair  of  giving  you  any  idea  of  the  effect  produced  by  this 
short  sentence,  unless  you  could  perfectly  conceive  the  whole  manner 
of  the  man,  as  well  as  the  peculiar  crisis  in  the  discourse.  Never 
before,  did  I  completely  understand  what  Demosthenes  meant  by 
laying  such  stress  on  delivery.  You  are  to  bring  before  you  the 
venerable  figure  of  the  preacher;  his  blindness,  constantly  recalling 
to  your  recollection  old  Homer,  Ossian  and  Milton,  and  associating 
with  his  performance,  the  melancholy  grandeur  of  their  geniuses;  you 
are  to  imagine  that  you  hear  his  slow,  solemn,  well-accented  enuncia- 
tion, and  his  voice  of  affecting,  trembling  melody,  you  are  to  remember 
the  pitch  of  passion  and  enthusiasm  to  which  the  congregation  were 
raised;  and  then,  the  few  minutes  of  portentous,  death-like  silence 
which  reigned  throughout  the  house;  the  preacher  removing  his  white 
handkerchief  from  his  aged  face  (even  yet  wet  from  the  recent  tor- 
rent of  his  tears)  and  slowly  stretching  forth  the  palsied  hand  which 
holds  it,  begins  the  sentence,  "Socrates  died  like  a  philosopher" — 
then  pausing,  raising  his  other  hand,  pressing  them  both  clasped 
together,  with  warmth  and  energy  to  his  breast,  lifting  his  "sightless 
balls"  to  heaven,  and  pouring  his  whole  soul  into  his  tremulous  voice 
—  "but  Jesus  Christ— like  a  God!"  If  he  had  been  indeed  and  in  truth 
an  angel  of  light,  the  effect  could  scarcely  have  been  more  divine. 

Whatever  I  had  been  able  to  conceive  of  the  sublimity  of 
Massillon,  or  the  force  of  Bourdaloue,  had  fallen  far  short  of  the 
power  which  I  felt  from  the  delivery  of  this  simple  sentence.  The 
blood,  which  just  before  had  rushed  in  a  hurricane  upon  my  brain, 
and,  in  the  violence  and  agony  of  my  feelings,  had  held  my  whole 
system  in  suspense,  now  ran  back  into  my  heart,  with  a  sensation 
which  I  cannot  describe — a  kind  of  shuddering,  delicious  horror!  The 
paroxysm  of  blended  pity  and  indignation,  to  which  1  had  been  trans- 
ported, subsided  into  the  deepest  self-abasement,  humility  and  adora- 
tion. I  had  just  been  lacerated  and  dissolved  by  sympathy,  for  our 
Saviour  as  a  fellow  creature;  but  now,  with  fear  and  trembling,  I 
adored  him  as — "a  God!" 

If  this  description  give  you  the  impression,  that  this  incomparable 
minister  had  anything  of  shallow,  theatrical  trick  in  his  manner,  it 
does  him  great  injustice.  I  have  never  seen,  in  any  other  orator, 
such  a  union  of  simplicity  and  majesty.  He  has  not  a  gesture,  an 
attitude  or  an  accent,  to  which  he  does  not  seem  forced,  by  the  senti- 

[8] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


ment  which  he  is  expressing.  His  mind  is  too  serious,  too  earnest, 
too  solicitous,  and,  at  the  same  time,  too  dignified,  to  stoop  to  artifice. 
Although  as  far  removed  from  ostentation  as  a  man  can  be,  yet  it  is 
clear  from  the  train,  the  style  and  substance  of  his  thoughts,  that  he 
is,  not  only  a  very  polite  scholar,  but  a  man  of  extensive  and  pro- 
found erudition.  I  was  forcibly  struck  with  a  short,  yet  beautiful 
character  which  he  drew  of  our  learned  and  amiable  countryman,  Sir 
Robert  Boyle:  he  spoke  of  him  as  if  "his  noble  mind  had,  even 
before  death,  divested  herself  of  all  influence  from  his  frail  taber- 
nacle of  flesh;"  and  called  him,  in  his  peculiarly  emphatic  and  im- 
pressive manner,  "a  pure  intelligence:  the  link  between  men  and 
angels." 

This  man  has  been  before  my  imagination  almost  ever  since.  A 
thousand  times,  as  I  rode  along.  I  dropped  the  reins  of  my  bridle, 
stretched  forth  my  hand,  and  tried  to  imitate  his  quotation  from 
Rousseau;  a  thousand  times  I  abandoned  the  attempt  in  despair,  and 
felt  persuaded  that  his  peculiar  manner  and  power  arose  from  an 
energy  of  soul,  which  nature  could  give,  but  which  no  human  being 
could  justly  copy.  In  short,  he  seems  to  be  altogether  a  being  of  a 
former  age,  or  of  a  totally  different  nature  from  the  rest  of  men.  As 
I  recall,  at  this  moment,  several  of  his  awfully  striking  attitudes, 
the  chilling  tide,  \Vith  which  my  blood  begins  to  pour  along  my  arteries, 
reminds  me  of  the  emotions  produced  by  .  the  first  sight  of  Gray's 
introductory  picture  of  his  bard: 

"On  a  rock,  whose  haughty  brow. 

Frowns  o'er  old  Conway's  foaming  flood, 
Robed  in  the  sable  garb  of  woe, 

With  haggard  eyes  the  poet  stood; 
(Loose  his  beard  and  hoary  hair 

Streamed,  like  a  meteor,  to  the  troubled  air:) 
And  with  a  poet's  hand  and  prophet's  fire, 

Struck  the  deep  sorrows  of  his  lyre." 

Guess  my  surprise,  when  on  my  arrival  at  Richmond,  and  mention- 
ing the  name  of  this  man,  I  found  not  one  person  who  had  ever 
before  heard  of  James  Waddell!  Is  it  not  strange,  that  such  a  genius 
as  this,  so  accomplished  a  scholar,  so  divine  an  orator,  should  be  per- 
mitted to  languish  and  die  in  obscurity,  within  eighty  miles  of  the 
metropolis  of  Virginia?  To  me  it  is  a  conclusive  argument,  either 
that  the  Virginians  have  no  taste  for  the  highest  strains  of  the  most 
sublime  oratory,  or  that  they  are  destitute  of  a  much  more  important 
quality,  the  love  of  genuine  and  exalted  religion. 


m 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

A  tablet,  containing-  the  following  inscription,  in  com- 
memoration of  the  Rev.  James  Waddell,  was  erected  in 
the  Courthouse  of  Lancaster  County,  Virginia,  in  1905:     _ 

IN  MEMORIAM 

Rev.  James  Waddell,  D.  D. 

Son  of  Thomas  and  Janet  Waddell,  of  the  County  Down,  Ireland.  Born 

on   the  Atlantic  Ocean,    in   1739,    when    his    parents    emigrated   to 

America.     Died  in  Lousia  County,  Virginia,  Sept.  17,  1805. 

Licensed  as  a  Probationer  April  2,  1741,  by  the  old  Presbytery 
of  Hanover. 

Resided  on  Corratoman  River,  Lancaster  County,  Virginia,  in  1762, 
and  had  three  preaching  places,  viz:  Lancaster  C.  H.,  the  Forest  Meet- 
inghouse, and  the  Northumberland  Meetinghouse. 

In  1768  married  Mary  Gordon,  daughter  of  Col.  James  Gordon,  of 
Lancaster  County,  an  elder  in  the  church,  and  a  member  of  the  Court, 
and  the  maternal  grandfather  of  Gen.  William  F.  Gordon,  of 
Albemarle. 

Taught  Meriwether  Lewis  and  Governor  James  Barbour. 

Was  at  one  time  minister  of  the  Tinkling  Spring  Church,  Augusta 
Co.,  Va.,  and  as  a  patriot,  in  the  Revolution,  addressed  Tate's  Com- 
pany at  Midway,  Rockbridge  County,  Virginia. 

Immortalized  in  Wirt's  British  Spy,  when  in  a  sermon  of  thrilling 
oratory  and  magic  eloquence  on  the  passion  of  our  Saviour,  he  electri- 
fied his  hearers  by  the  beautiful  and  sublime  quotation  from  Rousseau: 
"Socrates  died  like  a  philosopher,  but  Jesus  Christ  like  a  God." 

This  tablet  is  presented  to  Lancaster  County  through  the  Circuit 
Court,  by  Capt.  Geo,  P.  Squires,  Ocran,  Lancaster,  County,  Virginia. 


REV.  JOHN  McCUE 

Rev.  John  McCue  graduated  at  Liberty  Hall,  studied 
Theology  under  the  blind  preacher  and  succeeded  him  as 
pastor  at  Tinkling  Spring.  He  founded  the  Church  at 
Lewisburg.  Dr.  Mcllhaney  was  his  immediate  successor 
there.  He  was  the  first  man,  who  ever,  as  an  ordained  min- 
ister, preached  the  Gospel  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi. 
He  traveled  on  horseback  to  the  meetings  of  the  Synod  of 
Philadelphia,  He  was  present  at  the  first  meeting  of  Lex- 
ington Presbytery,  which  was  held  at  Timber  Ridge,  Rock- 
bridge County,  Virginia,    September  26,    1786 ;  and  was 

[10] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 

Moderator  of  six  of  its  stated  meetings,  between  the  years 
1790  and  1817. 

In  the  records  of  Staunton  Lodge  No.  13  A.  F.  &  A. 
M.  we  find  that  the  Rev.  Jno.  McCue  preached  a  sermon 
to  the  Craft,  Dec.  27,  1791.  In  1792  he  was  made  a 
Mason  and  became  a  member  of  the  Lodge  and  there- 
after preached  special  sermons  at  their  celebrations  to 
their  satisfaction,  as  evidenced  by  the  following  resolu- 
tion adopted  June  24,  1793:  "Ordered  that  Brothers, 
Jas.  Perry,  Humphreys,  Bowyer,  O'Neil,  Christian  and 
Kinney  form  a  committee  to  meet  at  the  Hall  on  Thurs- 
day next  to  draw  up  a  Bill  of  thanks  to  the  Rev.  Jno. 
McCue  for  his  truly  pertinent  and  Masonic  sermon  de- 
livered this  day  and  that  they  fix  upon  a  premium  to  be 
paid  him  out  of  the  funds  for  the  same  not  exceeding  ten 
dollars."  On  June  27,  $8.00  was  appropriated  for  this 
purpose.  Finally  on  Sept.  21,  1818  we,  find  the  following 
resolution : 

Resolved,  Unanimously,  that  the  Church  of  Christ,  society  at  large 
and  the  fraternity  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  in  particular,  have 
suffered  and  incalculable  loss  in  the  death  of  our  much  esteemed  and 
highly  respected  friend  and  brother,  Rev.  Jno.  McCue,  and  that  in 
commemoration  of  departed  worth,  the  members  of  this  Lodge  will 
wear  crepe  on  their  left  arm  for  thirty  days,  and  that  a  copy  of  these 
resolutions  be  published  for  two  weeks  in  the  "Republican  Farmer," 
of  Staunton. 

His  tombstone  records  his  death  on  the  Sabbath  morn- 
ing of  September  20,  1818,  in  his  66th  year  ;  and  bears  the 
further  testimony  that  ' '  having  served  his  generation  in 
dignified  and  faithful  discharge  of  all  relative  duties,  he 
was  suddenly  removed  from  labor  to  rest."  It  contains 
the  additional  inscription  that  "his  relations,  numerous 
friends,  and  the  church  at  large  deplore  the  loss  of  his 
talent,  erudition,  eloquence,  and  evangelical  ministrations, 
especially  the  Church  of  Tinkling  Spring,  amongst  whom 
he  had  arduously  labored  in  the  ministry  for  twenty-seven 
years." 

[11] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

Liberty  Hall,  where  Rev.  John  McCue  graduated,  was 
the  successor  of  a  school  founded  by  the  first  settlers  of 
Augusta  County,  about  fifteen  miles  southwest  of  Staunton, 
and  called  the  Augusta  Academy.  After  several  times 
changing  its  name  and  location,  it  became  in  1780,  Liberty 
Hall,  near  Lexington.  In  1782  it  was  incorporated  as 
* '  Liberty  Hall  Academy ' ' ;  and  two  years  later  Gen.  Wash- 
ington endowed  it  with  a  number  of  shares  in  a  canal 
company,  given  him  by  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  in 
recognition  of  patriotic  services.  In  1798  it  became  Wash- 
ington Academy,  and  afterwards  Washington  College  and 
Washington  and  Lee  University. 


[12] 


CHAPTER  II 

A   SERMON   BY   REV.  A.  M.  ERASER,  D.  D.,  PREACHED    AT 

THE  DEDICATION  OF  A  NEW  HOUSE  OF  WORSHIP 

FOR  HIS  NATIVE  CHURCH  IN  SUMTER,  S.  C. 


r  The  local  application  in  this  sermon  was  prepared  for  this  volume  as 
substitute  for  that  in  the  original  sermon,  which  referred  only  to 


a 

Sumter]. 


''Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Stand  ye  in  the  ways,  and  see, 
and  ask  for  the  old  paths,  where  is  the  good  way  and  walk 
therein,  and  ye  shall  find  rest  for  your  soulsr-JER.  Vl:lb. 

WITHOUT  explanation  or  introduction,    let  us  go 
directly  to  that  part  of  the  text  which  commends 
the  "old  paths"  and  calls  them  "the  good  way." 
For  if  we  travel  the  right  road  we  shall  infallibly  reach 
the  right  destination.     Why  does  the  Lord  exhort  us  to 
ask  for  the  old  paths  and  in  what  sense  does  he  call  them 
the  good  way?    I  answer  first  that  he  certainly   does  not 
do  so  because  old  things  are  always  better  than  new. 
Mere  old  age  is  never  a  virtue  in  itself.     The  old  is  never 
to  be  preferred  to  the  new  unless  it  is  intrinsically  better 
when  it  is  considered  on  its  own  merits.     If  it  were  other- 
wise, we  would  cease  to  study,  abandon  all  the  results  of  m- 
vention,  discovery  and  progress,  and  confine  our  attention 
to  the  effort  to  find  out  the  oldest  things  in  every  depart- 
ment of  life.     We  would  discard  the  modern  methods  of 
agriculture  which  both  experiment  and  experience  have 
proved  to  be  the  best  and  return  to  the  most  primitive 
methods.     The  steel  plow  would  have  to  give  way  to  the 

[13] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

sharpened  forked  stick  with  which  the  servants  of  Abra- 
ham broke  the  ground,  and  the  steam  threshing  machine 
that  disposes  of  the  year's  harvest  in  a  few  hours  would 
yield  to  the  hand  flail,  or  to  the  driving  of  oxen  to  and  fro 
across  the  grain,  or  to  some  other  equally  tedious  and 
wasteful  process.  In  medicine,  we  would  abandon  the 
successful  treatment  of  disease  that  has  been  taught  us 
by  enlightened  science  and  revert  to  the  ancient  theories 
that  those  medicines  which  are  costliest  and  most  ill  tasted 
are  the  best.  In  religion,  we  would  all  believe  in  witch- 
craft and  burn  the  witches,  and  we  would  consider  doc- 
trinal differences  as  a  crime  against  the  State  to  be  treated 
with  physical  penalties,  extreme  cases  to  be  cured  by  tort- 
ure or  punished  by  death.  Such  illustrations  are  sufficient 
to  show  how  absurd  it  is  to  imagine  that  everything  old 
is  good  just  because  it  is  old.  When,  therefore,  the  Lord 
says,  "Ask  for  the  old  paths"  we  are  not  to  understand 
Him  as  laying  down  a  general  law  that  whatever  is  old  is 
good,  but  He  is  referring  to  something  definite  in  the  laws, 
customs  or  experiences  of  the  past  that  in  some  satisfac- 
tory manner  has  been  proven  to  be  superior  and  to  which 
His  people  are  urged  to  return. 

A  consideration  of  the  circumstances  will  reveal  very 
clearly  what  that  reference  is.  In  this  passage  God  is 
addressing  the  Jews  through  Jeremiah.  God  had  dealt 
with  his  chosen  people  as  he  has  never  dealt  with  any 
other  people.  He  had  called  Abraham  out  from  the 
heathen  to  be  the  founder  of  a  consecrated  race,  and  for 
this  purpose  had  given  to  him  the  garden  spot  of  the 
world  for  a  possession.  His  descendants  had  gone  down 
into  Egypt  and  there  had  fallen  into  a  bondage  so  severe 
that  Abraham  by  prophetic  vision  had  called  it  a  "horror 
of  great  darkness,"  and  one  that  has  passed  into  history 
as  the  extreme  instance  of  degrading  servitude  and  cruel 
oppression.  From  this  bondage  they  had  been  delivered 
by  the  outstretched  arm  of  Jehovah,  which  all  the  sur- 

[14] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

rounding  nations  saw  and  remembered  and  feared  for 
many  generations.  Having  brought  them  out  of  Egypt 
He  led  them  to  Mt.  Sinai,  in  the  desert,  and  there  He  taught 
them  what  all  men  in  all  ages  have  supremely  needed  to 
know,  and  what  in  their  darkness  they  have  groped  after 
and  have  striven  to  know.  He  taught  them  how  to  wor- 
ship the  Most  High  acceptably.  He  revealed  the  true  re- 
ligion with  a  clearness  and  fullness  such  as  no  other  nation 
has  ever  known  unless  it  has  derived  the  knowledge  in 
some  way  from  Israel.  He  taught  them  how  their  sins 
might  be  forgiven  and  they  might  be  at  peace  with  God, 
how  they  might  themselves  become  holy,  how  they  might 
live  aright  with  their  fellow  men,  how  they  might  be 
noble,  useful  and  happy  throughout  the  earthly  life  and 
how  after  death  they  might  have  everlasting  holiness  and 
bliss.  This  revelation  was  accompanied  by  such  a  dis- 
closure of  the  ineffable  glory  and  authority  of  God  as  was 
suitable  to  command  their  reverence  and  win  their  loving 
confidence.  Subsequent  revelation  in  that  age  and  in 
after  ages,  more  fully  unfolded  what  the  first  revelation 
contained,  by  precept,  by  prophecy,  by  promise,  by  ob- 
ject lesson.  There  was  scarcely  a  generation  that  did  not 
have  a  prophet  of  its  own,  Joshua,  the  Judges,  Samuel, 
David  and  the  prophets  of  the  kingdom  period.  There 
was  scarcely  a  generation  that  did  not  witness  some 
miracle,  the  pledge  of  God's  presence  and  His  purpose  to 
guide,  to  protect,  to  sanctify.  While  the  commands  of 
Jehovah  were  respected  there  was  peace  and  prosperity, 
and  when  that  religion  was  forgotten  or  neglected  there 
was  trouble.  Jeremiah  lived  in  a  time  of  the  greatest  de- 
parture from  the  old  religion  which  God  had  so  graciously 
given  to  them.  Idolatries,  unmentionable  immoralities, 
crimes,  and  oppressions  abounded  and  awful  calamities 
overhung  the  nation.  In  their  high  carnival  of  irreligion,  of 
lust  and  cruelty,  in  their  alarm  and  confusion  and  despair, 
there  comes  this  voice  to  them  from  the   skies   as  if   to  a 

[15] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

bewildered  traveller,  "Go  no  further  in  that  direction, 
stop  and  see  how  strange  is  your  position,  how  threaten- 
ing the  prospect,  inquire  the  way  back  to  the  old  road 
from  which  you  have  strayed,  and  having  found  it  walk 
in  it,  for  that  alone  will  lead  to  peace."  "Stand  ye  in  the 
ways,  and  see,  and  ask  for  the  old  paths,  where  is  the 
good  way,  and  walk  therein,  and  ye  shall  find  rest  for  your 
souls." 

The  call  of  God  was  not  vague,  therefore,  nor  general, 
but  a  summons  to  seek  a  specific  blessing  the  fathers  had 
had  and  the  descendants  had  lost.  It  was  an  appeal  to 
return  to  the  commandments  and  covenant  of  Sinai,  and 
to  resume  the  pursuit  of  the  true  religion  which  had  been 
revealed  from  Heaven.  It  was  called  "the  good  way" 
because  it  was  right.  It  was  known  to  be  right  because 
it  had  been  divinely  revealed  and  certified.  It  carried  the 
imprimatur  of  Heaven  and  was  stamped  with  the  great 
seal  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  "Blessed  is  the  man  that 
walketh  not  in  the  counsel  of  the  ungodly,  nor  standeth 
in  the  way  of  sinners,  nor  sitteth  in  the  seat  of  the  scorn- 
ful. But  his  delight  is  in  the  law  of  the  Lord  ;  and  in  his 
law  doth  he  meditate  day  and  night.  And  he  shall  be  like 
a  tree  planted  by  the  rivers  of  water,  that  bringeth  forth 
his  fruit  in  his  season  ;  his  leaf  also  shall  not  wither  ;  and 
whatsoever  he  doeth  shall  prosper." 

The  question  may  here  be  asked,  of  what  practical 
consequence  is  all  of  this  to  those  who  live  in  this  gener- 
ation ?  We  are  not  Jews  but  Christians.  We  are  not  un- 
der the  Old  Testament  but  under  the  New  Testament,  we 
are  not  come  to  Mount  Sinai  in  Arabia  but  "we  are  come 
unto  Mount  Zion. "  My  answer  is  that  the  religion  which 
God  revealed  from  Sinai  is  the  only  religion  which 
God  has  ever  revealed  to  men.  The  conditions  of  re- 
ligion to-day  are  substantially  the  same  that  they  were 
when  Moses  gathered  the  Israelites  around  Mt.  Sinai,  and 
no  different  religion  has  ever  been  given  to  men.     The  old 

[16] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

religion  has  not  been  repealed  nor  superseded.  There 
have  been  other  revelations  since  the  days  of  Jeremiah, 
but  they  have  only  thrown  a  stronger  light  on  the  same 
religion.  The  Son  of  God  has  come  in  the  flesh  bringing 
"life  and  immortality  to  light  through  the  gospel,"  but  He 
is  the  incarnation  of  all  the  principles  involved  in  the  old 
revelation,  the  meaning  in  living  form  of  all  that  God  had 
made  known  concerning  the  way  of  salvation  and  the  way 
to  glorify  God  and  to  enjoy  Him  forever,  which  is  the  chief 
end  of  man.  The  coming  of  Christ  abolished  many  rites 
and  customs  but  this  did  not  impair  the  integrity  of  the 
scheme  of  religion  as  given  at  Sinai.  It  was  merely  a  re- 
moving of  the  drapery  from  the  figure  that  its  true  outline 
and  its  beauty  might  be  the  more  clearly  seen.  Christ 
was  the  promised  "Seed"  of  Abraham.  He  was  the 
"Rock"  that  followed  the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness.  He 
was  '  'the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one 
that believeth. "  "To  him  give  all  the  prophets  witness." 
He  was  the  antitype  of  all  their  typical  forms.  He  was 
the  theme  of  every  song,  the  burden  of  every  prophecy, 
the  meaning  of  history,  the  Messiah  of  Israel,  the  hope  of 
all  ages,  the  desire  of  all  nations,  the  light  of  the  world, 
the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory  and  the  express 
image  of  His  person,  "the  King  eternal,  immortal,  in- 
visible, the  only  wise  God,"  to  whom  "be  honor  and  glory 
forever  and  ever.     Amen." 

Do  you  grant  that  there  is  a  God,  "A  spirit  infinite, 
eternal  and  unchangeable,  in  His  being,  wisdom,  power, 
holiness,  justice,  goodness  and  truth?"  Of  course,  you 
do.  The  existence  of  such  a  Being  is  the  indispensable  con- 
dition of  all  thought  and  indeed  of  all  other  existence.  But 
if  such  a  Being  exists  it  follows  as  a  matter  of  course  that 
He  can  communicate  with  His  intelligent  creatures,  else  He 
would  be  inferior  to  them,  for  they  can  communicate  with 
each  other.  Then  there  is  a  God  who  can  communicate 
with  men. 

[171 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

Is  there  a  body  of  literature  called  "the  Bible"  which 
claims  to  be  such  a  revelation  from  God  to  men  ?  Of  course 
there  is.  That  is  a  fact  of  common  knowledge.  Are  there 
convincing  evidences  that  this  Bible  did  really  come  from 
God?  See  how  transcendant,  incomparable,  immeasurable 
it  stands  amidst  all  human  literature.  It  is  transcendant 
in  "the  heavenliness  of  its  matter,"  in  its  majesty  and 
authority.  It  is  transcendant  in  its  form  and  in  the  cir- 
cumstances of  its  construction.  It  is  composed  of  sixty- 
six  books,  written  by  many  different  authors,  and  the 
time  consumed  in  the  construction  of  the  whole  was  not 
less  than  fifteen  hundred  years,  and  yet  there  is  an  ab- 
solute unity  of  purpose  and  consistency  of  statement  in  it. 
The  giving  of  this  Bible  to  men  was  at  all  times  accom- 
panied by  miracles,  the  sign  manual  of  divinity.  More- 
over, it  is  transcendant  in  its  effects  upon  both  individ- 
uals and  nations.  Its  influence  falls  as  gently  as  the  dew 
upon  the  unfolding  life  of  the  child  in  the  pious  home, 
causing  it  to  blossom  into  rectitude,  and  spirituality  and 
strength  and  beauty.  Through  the  Bible,  the  most  de- 
graded are  purified  and  lifted  up  and  given  a  place  among 
those  who  respect  themselves  and  win  the  confidence  of 
men  and  render  a  useful  service  to  humanity.  By  it  the 
self-righteous  learn  humility  through  tortures  of  repent- 
ance. The  transformation  of  nations  is  no  less  marked 
than  that  of  individuals.  Every  thing  lives  whither  this 
river  cometh.  Savagery  and  barbarism  yield  to  civiliza- 
tion, ignorance  to  learning,  suffering  and  despair  to  heal- 
ing and  content,  hatred  to  charity,  and  besotted  vice  and 
superstition  to  the  cultivation  of  intelligent  piety. 

Once  more,  do  you  grant  that  the  mind  of  man  is  im- 
perfect and  that  his  heart  is  prone  to  sin?  These  are  mat- 
ters of  universal  consciousness.  Then  man  is  not  qualified 
to  frame  a  religion  for  himself  to  supplant  the  one  that 
God  has  given  him. 


[18] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

Now,  if  all  these  things  be  true,  if  man  is  unable  to 
devise  a  religion  for  himself  and  if  God  has  revealed 
a  religion  to  him,  it  necessarily  follows  that  that 
religion  revealed  by  God  remains  in  force  until  it  is  re- 
pealed or  another  is  given  in  its  stead  which  is  equally  as 
well  authenticated.  To  seek  the  old  paths  then  is  to  hark 
back  to  the  Bible,  ever  back  to  the  Bible,  away  from  all 
human  invention,  however  plausible  or  fascinating,  back 
to  the  Bible  as  the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice. 
In  the  language  of  a  distinguished  English  controversialist, 
"The  Bible  and  the  Bible  alone  is  the  religion  of  Pros- 
testants." 

This  is  the  claim  which  the  Bible  makes  for  itself.  It 
calls  itself  the  "incorruptible  seed,"  "the  word  of  God 
which  liveth  and  abideth  forever."  Christ  said,  "Heaven 
and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  my  words  shall  not  pass 
away."  Paul  said  "I  determined  not  to  know  anything 
among  you,  save  Jesus  Christ,  and  Him  crucified,"  and 
"God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."  To  Timothy  he  said,  "I  charge  thee, 
therefore,  before  God,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
shall  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead  at  his  appearing  and 
his  kingdom:  Preach  the  word."  Concerning  those  who 
would  persuade  the  Galatians  to  modify  their  rule  of  faith, 
he  says,  "Though  we,  or  an  angel  from  Heaven  preach 
any  other  gospel  unto  you  than  that  which  we  have 
preached  unto  you,  let  him  be  accursed."  Finally  among 
the  closing  sentences  of  the  Bible  we  find  this  startling 
warning:  "If  any  man  shall  add  unto  these  things,  God 
shall  add  unto  him  the  plagues  that  are  written  in  this 
book;  and  if  any  man  shall  take  away  from  the  words 
of  the  book  of  this  prophecy,  God  shall  take  away 
his  part  out  of  the  book  of  life,  and  out  of  the 
holy  city,  and  from  the  things  which  are  written  in  this 
book." 


[19] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

We  hear  of  the  "effete  doctrines  of  the  seventeenth 
century,"  and  much  also  of  a  "new  theology"  and  "ad- 
vanced views  in  religion,"  Of  course,  we  can  see  how 
such  expressions  might  be  used  with  propriety  in  cer- 
tain circumstances.  If  by  the  "'effete  doctrines  of  the 
seventeeth  century, "  it  is  meant  that  those  doctrines  did 
not  agree  with  the  teaching  of  God's  word,  it  is  proper 
to  describe  them  as  "effete."  Indeed  in  that  case  they 
never  did  have  any  life  in  them.  But  if  by  "effete  doc- 
trines" it  is  meant  that  those  doctrines  correctly  represent 
the  teachings  of  the  Bible,  but  that  the  human  race  has 
outgrown  them  and  no  longer  needs  them  in  this  pro- 
gressive age,  the  error  is  fundamental  and  deadly.  If  by 
a  "new  theology"  is  meant  a  re-study  of  the  Bible  and  a 
more  correct  statement  of  its  teachings,  well  and  good. 
But  if  the  "new  theology"  is  something  wrought  out  by  the 
mind  of  scholars,  different  from  the  Bible  and  supposed  to 
be  an  improvement  on  it,  then  the  name  and  the  thing  are 
alike  to  be  repudiated  and  to  be  feared  as  a  malignant 
poison. 

The  Bible  bears  the  same  relation  to  Theology  that 
nature  bears  to  science.  It  contains  the  ultimate  facts 
and  it  is  the  final  appeal.  If  we  find  we  have  misunder- 
stood the  Bible  we  must  change  our  doctrine,  as  we 
abandoned  Scholasticism  for  the  Baconian  system.  But 
we  may  no  more  change  or  discard  the  Bible  than  we  may 
discredit  nature. 

We  also  hear  of  "new  methods"  in  religion.  If  these 
new  methods  are  intended  to  win  the  attention  of  men 
and  bring  them  into  contact  with  the  gospel,  they  are 
harmless  and  may  be  beneficial.  But  if  they  are  new 
methods  to  secure  peace  with  God  and  holiness  of  life, 
they  are  alien  and  hostile  to  Christ  and  an  affront  to  the 
Almighty  Spirit  of  grace. 

We  do  not  need  a  new  religion,  for  none  of  the  con- 
ditions have  changed  since  the  old  one  was  given  us. 

[20] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

1.  Human  nature  has  not  changed.  Man  has  the  same 
dual  nature,  soul  and  body,  with  the  same  intricate  and 
inscrutable  relations  to  each  other.  Man's  body  has  the  same 
members,  and  is  composed  of  the  same  materials,  and  the 
same  chemical,  physical,  and  mechanical  laws  control  its 
life  and  action  as  when  Jeremiah  or  Moses  lived.  What 
was  food  then  is  food  now  and  what  was  poison  then  is 
poison  now.  Man's  soul  is  the  same.  The  mind  has  the 
same  faculties  of  reception,  reproduction  and  thought. 
The  heart  bears  the  same  affections  and  emotions,  the 
same  joys  and  sorrows,  loves  and  hates,  hopes  and  fears. 
The  moral  nature  is  the  same  and  makes  the  same  dis- 
tinction between  right  and  wrong.  What  was  moral  in 
former  days  is  moral  now  and  what  was  immoral  then  is  im- 
moral now.  Conscience  approves  the  right  and  condemns 
the  wrong  just  as  it  always  did,  and  man  has  lost  none  of 
his  fear  of  punishment  or  hope  of  reward.  Human  virtues 
and  vices  have  not  undergone  any  changes.  The  unprinci- 
pled business  man  of  to-day  who  regards  conscience  in 
business  and  a  consideration  for  the  interests  of  others  as 
antiquated,  is  startled  on  reading  the  story  of  Jacob  and 
Laban  to  find  the  same  sharp  practice  in  their  dealings 
with  each  other  that  he  imagined  were  discovered  in  the 
present  age.  The  artful  politician  finds  his  counterpart 
in  Absolom  and  the  resourceful  public  man  finds  his  in 
Joab.  And  where  shall  we  find  constructive  statesman- 
ship, or  where  such  versatilily  of  genius  as  in  Moses,  the 
poet,  orator,  historian,  lawgiver,  statesman,  masterful 
leader  of  men? 

2.  God  is  the  same,  three  persons  and  one  God  for- 
ever. He  has  the  same  attributes,  omniscience,  omnipo- 
tence and  omnipresence.  When  David's  meditations  on 
these  themes  were  gathered  up  from  a  life  time  of  varied 
experiences,  from  the  shepherd  life,  from  the  court,  the 
camp,  the  battle  field,  the  exile's  cave,  and  he  gave  ex- 
pression to  them  in  that  magnificent  outburst: 

[21] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


"0,  Lord,  thou  hast  searched  me,  and  known  me, 

"Thou  knowest  my  downsitting  and  mine  uprising,  thou  under- 

standest  my  thought  afar  off, 
"Thou  compassest  my  path    and  my  lying  down,   and   art   ac- 
quainted with  all  my  ways. 
"For  there  is  not  a  word  in  my  tongue,   but,  lo,  O  Lord,   thou 

knowest  it  altogether. 
"Thou  hast  beset  me  behind  and  before,    and  laid  thine  hand 

upon  me. 
"Such  knowledge  is  too  wonderful  for  me;  it  is  high,  I  cannot 

attain  unto  it. 
"Whither  shall  I  go  from  thy  Spirit?  or  whither  shall  I  flee  from 

thy  presence? 
"If  I  ascend  up  into  heaven,    thou  are   there;  if  I  make  my  bed 

in  hell,  behold,  thou  are  there. 
"If  I  take  the  wings  of  the  morning,  and  dwell  in  the  uttermost 

parts  of  the  sea  ; 
"Even  there  shall  thy  hand  lead  me,  and  thy  right  hand  shall 

hold  me, 
"If  I  say,  Surely  the  darkness  shall  cover  me;  even  the  night 

shall  be  light  about  me. 
"Yea,  the  darkness  hideth  not  from  thee;  but  the  night  shineth 

as  the  day;  the  darkness  and  the  light  are  both  alike  to 

thee." 

We  are  sure  that  we  can  never  get  beyond  that 
description  of  these  attributes. 

If  God  was  love  when  the  New  Testament  was  written 
He  is  love  to-day,  and  all  the  infinite  reaches  of  His  nature 
are  permeated  with  that  divine  tenderness.  He  is  char- 
acterized by  the  same  righteousness  and  holiness,  ''dwelling 
in  the  light  which  no  man-  can  approach  unto;  whom 
no  man  hath  seen,  nor  can  see;  to  whom  be  honor  and  power 
everlasting.  Amen."  He  is  "of  purer  eyes  than  to 
behold  evil,  and  cannot  look  on  iniquity."  He  has  the 
same  indignation  against  sin  and  the  same  delight  in 
holiness.  Therefore  God's  attitude  toward  sin  and  the 
sinner  remains  unchanged  and  if  He  were  to  promulgate 
another  plan  of  salvation  to-day,  his  nature  must  express 
itself  in  the  same  way  and  reproduce  the  same  old  plan, 

[221 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

embodying  the  same  principles  of  righteousness  and 
mercy. 

There  is  no  new  Christ,  the  Son  of  God  incarnate, 
very  God  and  very  man.  The  apostle  exclaims,  "Jesus 
Christ  the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and  forever." 

The  virgin  birth  has  not  ceased  to  be  a  fact.  Christ's 
ministry  of  love  and  reconciliation  is  still  a  fact.  His  cru- 
cifixion, his  burial,  his  resurrection,  his  ascension  are  all 
as  much  realities  as  they  ever  were.  Are  we  to  imagine 
that  all  these  stupendous  facts  involved  in  God's  gift  of 
His  Son  for  a  perishing  world  are  of  temporary  effect? 
Has  the  atonement  lost  its  meaning?  Has  the  blood  of 
Christ  lost  its  value? 

"Dear  dying  Lamb  thy  precious  blood 
"Shall  never  lose  its  power 
"  'Till  all  the  ransomed  church  of  God 
"Be  saved  to  sin  no  more." 

The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  same,  in  His  nature.  His  office 
and  His  work,  renewing,  convincing,  persuading,  enable- 
ing,  sanctifying,  guiding,  comforting  and  crowning  with 
final  triumph. 

3.  The  old  methods  of  delivering  souls  out  of  the 
estate  of  in  and  misery  and  bringing  them  into  the 
estate  of  salvation,  are  found  by  experience  to  be  as 
effective  to-day  as  they  ever  were  and  they  are  the  only 
methods  that  produce  the  unmistakably  genuine  results. 
They  are  the  methods  of  Peter  and  Paul  and  the  other 
apostles.  They  narrated  the  facts  of  the  gospel  story. 
They  told  how  the  Son  of  God  became  incarnate,  how  He 
lived  among  men  and  ministered  to  them  with  divine 
sympathy  and  almighty  power,  how  He  died  for  them 
and  rose  again  and  ascended  to  heaven,  where  seated  on 
the  right  hand  of  the  majesty  on  high.  He  has  all  power 
in  heaven  and  in  earth  and  wields  it  with  the  same  loving 
heart  He  displayed  when  He  was  in  the  flesh.     Having 

[23] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

told  this  story  they  offered  eternal  life  without  money 
and  without  price  to  all  who  would  turn  from  their  sins 
and  trust  in  the  mercy  of  God  as  it  had  been  displayed  in 
Jesus  Christ.  As  they  preached  this  curious  gospel  the 
hearts  of  hearers  were  opened  by  the  Holy  Ghost  so  that 
they  accepted  the  divine  offer  and  embraced  Jesus  Christ 
as  their  Savior  and  Lord  forever.  Henceforth  these 
converts  had  peace  of  conscience  and  their  lives  were  more 
and  more  altered  into  the  likeness  of  Christ. 

These  methods  have  been  found  sufficient  for  all  the 
religious  effects  desired  among  men,  in  whatever  age  and 
regardless  of  the  learning  or  the  abilities  of  the  preacher. 
They  were  the  methods  of  Augustine,  of  Bernard  of 
Clairvaux,  of  Savonarola,  of  Luther  and  Calvin  and  Knox, 
and  Jonathan  Edwards,  and  Whitefield,  and  the  Wesleys 
and  Spurgeon  and  Moody.  They  are  adapted  to  all  classes 
of  hearers.  Here  is  a  convict  in  his  cell,  a  profane 
swearer,  a  drunkard,  a  burglar,  a  libertine,  a  murderer 
all  in  one.  By  what  we  call  an  accident,  some  fragment 
of  the  old  story  falls  under  his  eye  and  the  familiar  trans- 
formation takes  place  within  him.  He  comes  forth  a  dif- 
ferent man.  A  live  coal  from  off  the  altar  of  God  has 
touched  and  purged  his  lips.  He  becomes  a  preacher  of 
the  gospel  and  multitudes  of  every  shade  of  moral  char- 
acter and  every  degree  of  intelligence  attend  his  preach- 
ing and  many  are  brought  in  penitence  and  faith  and 
whole  surrender  to  the  feet  of  Jesus.  Here  is  another 
case  at  the  opposite  pole  of  morality  and  intelligence,  the 
scion  of  a  long  line  of  scholars  and  moralists,  himself  the 
exponent  of  high  ethical  refinement  and  an  eminent  in- 
structor. He  attends  an  evangelistic  meeting,  that  as  a 
student  of  social  and  religious  phenomena,  he  may  observe 
the  enthusiasms  which  he  pities.  He  hears  the  simple 
gospel  story,  his  heart  is  touched  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  he 
is  completely  humbled  at  the  -foot  of  the  cross  and  is  not 


[24] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

afraid  in  the  face  of  all  his  antecedents  to  avow  his  change 
of  heart  and  declare,  "God  is  in  you  of  a  truth." 

What  holy   enthusiasm,   what   high   loyalty  to  con- 
science, what  exalted  heroisii  this  religion  has  excited. 

What  great  men  have  come  from  its  crucibles, 
whether  greatness  be  measured  by  the  standards  of 
earth  or  heaven?  On  the  one  side,  what  intensity  and 
dimensions  of  intellect,  what  breadth  of  view,  what  fer- 
tility of  resource,  what  indomitable  purpose,  what  capacity 
to  wait,  to  endure  and  to  command  success.  On  the  other 
side,  what  sublime  unselfishness  and  self-sacrifice,  what 
passion  for  truth,  for  humanity,  for  God.  Consider  a 
Joseph,  in  the  home,  in  the  fields,  in  prison,  upon  the 
throne;  a  Moses,  in  the  sublimity  of  self-repression  and 
solitude,  and  in  the  equal  sublimity  of  confronting  and 
subduing  Pharaoh,  "seeing  Him  who  is  invisible;"  an 
Elijah  at  the  brook  Cherith  or  on  Mt.  Carmel  or  on  Mt. 
Horeb;  the  Hebrew  captives  before  the  fiery  furnace; 
Daniel  in  the  den  of  lions;  the  disciples  before  the  council 
in  Jerusalem;  Paul  before  Agrippa;  Wicklif,  Huss,  Luther, 
Calvin,  Knox,  Latimer,  Ridley  and  a  host  of  others  who 
cannot  be  mentioned,  who  in  all  ages  of  the  church 
"through  faith  subdued  kingdoms,  wrought  righteousness, 
obtained  promises,  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions,  quenched 
the  violence  of  fire,  escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword,  out 
of  weakness  were  made  strong,  waxed  valiant  in  fight, 
turned  to  fiight  the  armies  of  the  aliens;"  who  "were 
tortured,  not  accepting  deliverance;  that  they  might 
obtain  a  better  resurrection;"  who  "had  trial  of  cruel  mock- 
ings  and  scourgings,  yea  morover  of  bonds  and  imprison- 
ment;" who  'were  stoned,  were  sawn  asunder,  were 
tempted,  were  slain  with  the  sword,  wandered  about  in 
sheepskins  and  goatskins,  being  destitute,  afflicted,  tor- 
mented, of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy. ' 

What  national  life  and  character  have  been  wrought 
by  this  religion!    What  virile  intellectuahty,  what  dis- 

[25] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

covery,  what  invention,  what  mastery  of  nature,  what 
civiHzation,  what  progress,  what  achievement,  what  civic 
righteousness,  what  sobriety,  what  honest  commerce,  what 
industry,  what  home  life,  what  peace,  what  prosperity, 
what  love  of  man,  what  care  for  the  unfortunate,  what 
sense  of  the  infinite  and  the  eternal! 

Consider  the  illustration  of  itself  our  religion  has  put 
on  the  pages  of  history,  the  story  of  the  Waldensian 
Church,  the  rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic;  the  romance  of  the 
Huguenots,  their  sufferings  at  home,  the  splendor  of  their 
deeds  abroad,  the  leaven  of  their  blood  among  the  nations; 
the  signing  of  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant  in  the 
Greyfriars  churchyard  in  Edinburgh;  the  record  of  the 
founding  of  religious  liberty  in  America;  and  last  but  not 
least,  in  our  own  day,  the  martyrdom  of  thousands  of 
Chinese  in  the  Boxer  uprising,  ''not  accepting  deliv- 
erance. ' ' 

But  we  need  not  go  beyond  our  local  history  to  find 
an  illustration  of  the  divine  energy  of  our  religion. 
When  the  fathers  came  to  settle  in  this  Valley,  so  the 
historian  records,  one  controlling  reason  of  their  coming 
was  that  they  might  have  unrestricted  enjoyment  of  their 
religion,  which  they  could  not  pursue  in  peace  at  home 
and  which  they  could  not  be  forced  to  abandon.  Here 
they  made  their  homes  in  the  solitudes  of  the  forests  or 
prairies,  among  the  wild  beasts,  without  human  neighbors, 
without  shelter  till  they  could  build  one,  with  only  such 
food  as  the  streams  and  the  woods  supplied  till  they  could 
clear  the  land  and  raise  a  crop.  Here  they  were  exposed 
to  the  incursions  of  savages  from  a  distance  and  in  course 
of  time  actually  suffered  every  species  of  anxiety  and  loss 
and  torture  from  that  source.  All  of  this  they  endured 
rather  than  renounce  their  religion,  or  be  oppressed  in 
the  enjoyment  of  it.  All  this  was  the  measure  of  their 
devotion  to  their  religion  and  through  all  of  this  they  were 
sustained  by  the  comforts  this  religion  afforded.     Among 

[26] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

the  effects  brought  with  them  across  the  sea,  and  along 
the  wilderness  trail  to  these  remote  localities  were  "their 
Bibles,  the  Confession  of  Faith  and  Shorter  Catechism 
and  Rouse's  Version  of  the  Psalms  of  David."  Nor  did 
they  wait  for  the  home  missionary  to  come  at  the  sug- 
gestion and  the  expense  of  others  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
them.  As  soon  as  they  were  well  settled  and  in  sufficient 
numbers,  they  began  their  "supplication"  to  the  nearest 
Presbytery,  hundreds  of  miles  distant,  to  send  them  a 
minister.  And  they  continued  these  "supplications"  till 
the  man  of  God  appeared  among  them.  Soon  houses  of 
worship  were  built  and  congregations  were  organized. 
Then  the  school  and  later  the  college  followed  in  succes- 
sion. There  came  inroads  of  Indians,  with  massacres,  burn- 
ings, captivities,  tortures,  bondages  and  daring  escapes. 
Through  it  all  we  are  sure  they  found  comfort  and  support 
and  hope  in  the  teachings  of  the  old  religion,  in  Bible 
texts,  catechism  answers  and  stanzas  of  Rouse's  Ver- 
sion, with  all  which  the  mind  had  been  stored  in  youth 
against  such  a  time  as  this. 

It  is  now  not  far  from  two  hundred  years  since  the 
first  settler  came  to  this  vicinity.  In  that  time  the  people 
of  whom  this  congregation  forms  a  representative  part, 
have  done  their  share  of  what  the  country  has  accomplished. 
In  every  war,  in  the  French  and  Indian  War,  in  the  Re- 
volution, in  the  War  of  1812,  in  the  Mexican  War,  in  the 
War  between  the  States  they  have  never  been  behind  their 
countrymen  in  sacrifice,  in  service,  in  courage  or  in 
achievement.  And  religion  has  been  a  conspicuous  motive 
in  it  all.  They  orginated  the  declaration  of  independence 
and  were  leaders  in  the  movement  for  religious  liberty  and 
the  separation  of  Church  and  State.  It  was  their  religion 
that  taught  them  these  things.  They  gave  an  Archibald 
Alexander  to  the  church  and  a  Stonewall  Jackson  to  the 
State. 


[27] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

Now  whether  this  religion  is  to  be  preserved  in  the 
future  and  continue  a  power  for  good,  bringing  men  into 
communion  with  God,  training  them  for  service  on  earth 
and  glory  in  heaven,  will  depend  upon  how  closely  you 
adhere  to  the  old  paths  as  they  are  charted  in  the  old 
Bible.  Once  for  all,  acquire  the  truth  that  the  Bible  is 
a  revelation  of  God,  infallibly  inspired.  Buy  this  truth 
and  sell  it  not.  Avoid  the  poison  of  all  criticism  that 
tends  to  weaken  your  confidence  in  that  truth.  Let  the 
heart  be  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  Word  of  God  and 
the  mind  be  stored  with  its  teachings  and  its  promises. 
Teach  them  diligently  to  your  children  in  the  home  and  in 
the  Sabbath  School  and  let  them  come,  with  authority  and 
confidence  from  the  pulpit.  In  this  much  depends  upon 
the  preacher  and  quite  as  much  upon  the  congregation. 
It  is  yours  to  call  your  minister  and  to  dispense  with  him 
if  he  proves  untrue.  What  you  demand  and  expect  of  him 
will  largely  determine  the  character  of  his  preaching. 
The  preacher  and  his  congregation  act  and  react  on  each 
other.  He  fashions  them  and  they  fashion  him  as  well. 
*  'Like  priest,  like  people, ' '  and  like  people  like  priest.  If  you 
are  of  the  number  of  those  of  whom  the  apostle  prophesied 
that  "they  will  not  endure  sound  doctrine,"  but  will  "heap 
to  themselves  teachers,  having  itching  ears,"  that  is  their 
ears  will  so  itch  for  novelties  that  if  their  teachers  cannot 
supply  those  novelties  they  will  keep  on  changing  their 
teachers;  if  you  demand  that  he  shall  prophesy  only 
pleasant  things,  and  your  greatest  ambition  for  him  is  to 
be  able  to  say  to  him  as  they  said  to  their  preachers  in 
Ezekiel's  day,  "Thou  art  as  a  very  lovely  song  of  one  that 
hath  a  pleasant  voice  and  can  play  well  on  an  instrument 
of  music,"  you  can  easily  emasculate  his  ministry  of  all 
spiritual  virility.  But  if  you  ask  him  for  "the  old  paths," 
and  inquire  of  him  "Where  is  the  good  way,"  if  you 
heartily  sustain  him  when  he  declares  to  you  all  the 
counsel  of  God,  saying  in  the  language  of  an  old  hymn: 

[28] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

"This  is  the  way  the  fathers  trod, 
"The  way  that  leads  me  home  to  God, 
"The  King's  highway  of  holiness, 
"I'll  go  for  all  his  paths  are  peace;" 

you  will  make  him  a  true  ambassador  of  Christ,  and 
"a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly- 
dividing  the  word  of  truth."  "All  thy  children  shall  be 
taught  of  the  Lord;  and  great  shall  be  the  peace  of  thy 
children. "  Your  sons  shall  be  as  plants  grown  up  in  their 
youth  and  your  daughters  will  be  as  corner  stones, 
polished  after  the  similitude  of  a  palace?  Into  all  the 
walks  of  life  you  will  send  forth  faithful  men  and  women, 
fearing  God  and  loving  their  fellow  men,  intelligent  and 
capable,  conscientious  and  devoted,  whose  names  are  writ- 
ten in  Heaven. 


[29] 


flKpr  -PKESBYTEI^l>=CN    CHUI^CH    S  TAUNT  ON  ,^/^^. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  UNITED  CONGREGATION  OF  STAUNTON  AND  TINKLING 

SPRING    PRESENT    A    CALL    TO    THE 

REV.    JAMES  WADDELL 

THE  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Staunton,  Virginia, 
was  organized  by  Lexington  Presbytery  in  1804. 
But  it  inherits  a  much  longer  history.  The  Presby- 
erians  at  and  near  Staunton  were  connected  with  Tinkling 
Spring  Church.  On  the  1st  day  of  May,  1783,  "the  united 
congregation  of  Staunton  and  Tinkling  Spring"  presented 
a  call  to  the  Rev.  Jas.  Waddell,  D.  D.  (immortalized  in 
the  "British  Spy"  by  William  Wirt  as  "The  Blind 
Preacher").  He  preached  occasionally  in  Staunton,  but 
having  determined  to  remove  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  he 
declined  the  call. 

"This  call   is  respectfully  presented  by  the   united  congregations  of 
Staunton  and  Tinkling  Spring  to  the  Rev.  Ja.  Waddel  : 

Rev.  Sir  : 

The  congregations  of  Staunton  and  Tinkling  Spring,  having 
cordially  agreed  to  unite  under  your  ministerial  care  and  to  share 
equally  of  your  labors  and  provide  equally  for  your  support,  have  ap- 
pointed us,  the  subscribers,  in  their  name  and  behalf,  solemnly  to 
invite  you  to  take  the  pastoral  charge  of  them  by  installments. 
Preaching,  catechising,  reproving,  and  administering  the  ordinances 
of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper  to  worthy  subjects,  are  official 
duties  which  will  be  expected  from  you;  and  as  the  discharge  of  these 
imply  on  their  part  a  respectful  attendance  and  Christian  submission, 
you  have  a  right  to  demand  both,  and  every  virtuous  effort  to  promote 
and  maintain  order,  peace  and  love  in  the  societies.  Moreover,  we, 
Alexander  St.  Clair  and  William  Bowyer,  Commissioners,  do  hereby 
covenant  and  promise  in  behalf  of  the  Congregation  of  Staunton  to 
pay  to  you,  or  your  order,  from  time  to  time,  at  the  end  of  every  six 
months  from  the  date  hereof,  you  conducting  yourself  as  a  minister  of 

[311 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Christ  Jesus,  the  sum  of  twenty-five  pounds  in  gold  and  silver,  or  in 
current  money,  fully  equivalent  thereto,  for  the  half  of  your  labours. 
And  we,  ******  bind  ourselves  in  the  same  terms 
and  manner  with  the  above  gentlemen,  to  pay  in  behalf  of  the  con- 
gregation of  Tinkling  Spring  twenty  pounds.  In  Witness  whereof, 
we  the  parties  for  ourselves  and  for  our  respective  societies,  do  sub- 
scribe our  names,  this  first  day  of  May,  1783. 

t^      04-       <-  \  Alexander  St.  Clair,  )    n^^^i^^d^r^^r.^  " 

For  Staunton,      -j  William  Bowyer,         \    Commissioners. 

The  names  of  the  Tinkling  Spring  Commissioners  have  been  cut 
out,  by  whom  or  why  I  do  not  know  ;  it  will  be  observed  that  their 
names  are  not  given  in  the  call. 

The  foregoing  is  a  copy  of  the  original   paper  in   my  possession. 

It  shows  that  there  was  a   Presbyterian  organization  in  Stauntan  in 

1783,  although  the  church  here  was  not  constituted  by  Presbytery  till 

1804. 

Jos.  A.  Waddell. 

The  Rev.  James  Waddell  was  born  in  the  month  of 
July,  1739, and  it  is  believed  that  his  birth  occurred  on  board 
of  the  ship  which  brought  the  family  from  Ireland  to 
America.  A  failure  of  crops  in  Ireland  at  that  time  in- 
duced many  people  to  leave  the  country  and  come  to  a 
land  of  greater  abundance.  Many  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Augusta  County  came  at  that  time,  and  possibly  in  the 
same  ship  with  the  Waddell  family. 

While  many  of  the  -new-comers  came  directly  from  the 
landing  place,  on  the  Delaware  river,  to  Augusta  County, 
the  Waddells  settled  in  the  eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania. 

James  Waddell  was  sent  to  school  at  an  early  age,  and 
educated  at  one  of  the  most  celebrated  schools  in  the 
Colonies  at  that  time.  He  became  an  assistant  teacher, 
and  the  afterwards  celebrated  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush  was 
one  of  his  pupils. 

When  about  nineteen  years  of  age  he  started  to  go 
from  home  on  horseback  to  South  Carolina,  where  he  ex- 
pected to  engage  in  teaching.  Passing  through  Virginia, 
he  encountered  the  Rev.  Samuel  Davies,  who  induced  him 
to  remain  here.     He  was  first  employed  as  a  teacher  in 

[32] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

the  school  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Todd,  in  Louisa  County,  and 
there  began  to  study  for  the  ministry.  He  was  taken  under 
the  care  of  Hanover  Presbytery,  at  a  meeting  held  at 
Augusta  Stone  Church  in  1760. 

After  being  licensed  by  Presbytery  he  preached  for  a 
time  in  Bedford  county,  and,  according  to  the  narrative  of 
an  aged  member  of  the  church  there,  his  preaching  at- 
tracted much  attention.  He  finally  accepted  a  call  to  Lan- 
caster County,  and  remained  there  'till  May,  1776,  when  he 
removed  to  Augusta  County,  residing  on  South  River  above 
Waynesboro.  While  living  in  Augusta  he  preached  regu- 
larly at  Tinkling  Spring.  In  1784  he  removed  to  a  planta- 
tion near  the  present  town  of  Gordonsville,  where  he  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  While  living  there  he  became 
totally  blind  from  cataract,  but  continued  to  preach  in  a 
rustic  meeting-house,  built  by  himself  on  his  own  land. 
His  blindness  was  partially  relieved  by  a  surgical  opera- 
tion. In  the  year  1794  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  college  at  Car- 
lisle, Pennsylvania.     His  death  occurred  in  1805. 


[331 


CHAPER  IV 

ORGANIZATION  OF  CHURCH  WITH  BRIEF  HISTORY 
TO  THE  YEAR  1884 

ON  the  9th  of  May,  1804,  Presbytery  appointed  the 
Rev.  John  Montgomery,  of  Rocky  Spring,  and  the 
Rev.  Benjamin  Erwin,  of  Mossy  Creek,  to  organize 
the  church  in  Staunton.  The  church  consisted  originally  of 
only  fifteen  or  twenty  members,  and  the  first  Ruling  Elders 
elected  and  ordained  were  Joseph  Bell,  Joseph  Cowan, 
Andrew  Barry  and  Samuel  Clarke.  In  1805,  the  Rev. 
William  Calhoun  removed  from  Eastern  Virginia  to 
Staunton,  and  in  August,  1806,  at  Brown's  Meeting  House 
(since  Hebron)  he  was  installed  pastor  of  the  united  con- 
gregations of  Brown's  Meeting  House  and  Staunton.  Mr. 
Wilson,  of  Augusta  Church,  and  Mr.  McCue,  of  Tinkling 
Spring,  were  the  committee  of  installation.  The  first 
church  building  was  erected  in  1818.  The  building  was 
originally  a  very  plain  brick  house,  having  neither  portico 
nor  steeple.  The  tower  for  the  bell,  at  the  north  end  of 
the  church,  was  built  some  nineteen  or  twenty  years  after- 
wards. As  is  generally  known,  the  house  is  now  a  part  of 
the  Mary  Baldwin  Seminary,  though  altered  in  ap- 
pearance. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  John  H.  Rice  attended  a  meeting  of  the 
Synod  in  Staunton  in  October  of  that  year,  and  in  his  diary 
says  :  '  The  Presbyterians  have  a  large  and  very  decent 
house  of  worship  in  the  town  in  a  state  of  considerable 
forwardness.  If  completed  in  the  style  in  which  it  is 
begun  it  will  do  great  credit  to  the  public  spirit  of  the 
citizens." 

[34] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

At  a  meeting  of  Presbytery,  in  Staunton,  on  Thurs- 
day, April  27,  1826,  the  pastoral  relation  of  Mr.  Calhoun 
with  this  church  was  dissolved,  and  he  thereafter,  for 
many  years,  devoted  his  whole  time  to  Hebron  congrega- 
tion. Under  his  ministry  the  number  of  church  members 
in  Staunton  greatly  increased. 

The  next  pastor  was  the  Rev.  Joseph  Smith  (after- 
wards D.  D:)  who  was  installed  April  29,  1826.  While 
pastor  of  the  church  Mr.  Smith  also  taught  a  classical 
school,  being  principal  of  the  Staunton  Academy.  Mr. 
Smith  resided  in  Staunton  more  than  six  years,  and  then 
resigned  his  charge,  the  relation  being  dissolved  by 
Presbytery  October  22,  1832. 

The  celebrated  Dr.  Nettleton  spent  the  winter  of 
1828-'9  in  Staunton,  and  his  labors  here  were  instrumental 
in  much  good.  Many  valuable  members  were  added  to  the 
church,  and  the  cause  of  religion  generally  was  greatly 
promoted. 

For  nearly  two  years  the  pastorate  remained  vacant, 
the  pulpit  being  occupied  occasionally  by  various  ministers. 

The  Rev.  John  Steele  was  elected  pastor  in  1834,  and 
on  the  20th  of  June  was  ordained  and  installed  by  Presby- 
tery. He  remained  here  rather  more  than  three  years, 
the  relation  being  dissolved  August  4,  1837,  and  then 
emigrated  to  the  State  of  Illinois. 

The  Rev.  Paul  E.  Stevenson,  of  New  York,  succeeded 
Mr.  Steele  as  pastor.  He  came  to  Staunton  from  Prince- 
ton Seminary,  on  invitation,  in  the  fall  of  1837,  and  was 
installed  June  8,  1838.  During  Mr.  Stevenson's  pastorate 
the  church  and  congregation  made  considerable  progress 
in  various  respects.  Amongst  the  outward  improvements 
was  the  enlargement  of  the  church  grounds  by  the  pur- 
chase and  addition  of  the  lot  lying  between  the  church  and 
New  street.  This  lot  previously  rugged  and  unsightly, 
was  graded  and  neatly  enclosed,  and  soon  presented  an 
attractive  appearance.    Augusta  Female  Seminary  also 

[35] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 

was  founded  during  this  period,  by  the  Rev.  Rufus  W. 
Bailey,  who  came  to  Staunton  to  establish  a  school  for 
girls.  For  many  years  a  school  of  this  kind  had  been 
maintained  here  by  a  succession  of  teachers,  in  more  or 
less  intimate  connection  with  the  church.  Among  the 
teachers  successively  were  a  Mr.  Esterbrook,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Thatcher  and  Mr.  R.  L.  Cooke.  But  no  attempt  had 
been  made  to  erect  buildings,  and  different  private  houses, 
rented  by  the  teachers,  had  been  occupied.  Through  Mr. 
Bailey's  influence,  however,  the  Presbyterians  of  the 
town  and  county  were  induced  to  take  an  interest  in  the 
matter  as  a  denominational  enterprise.  Trustees  were 
selected,  an  act  of  incorporation  was  obtained  from  the 
legislature  (in  1845)  and  in  a  short  time  the  centre  build- 
ing of  the  seminary  was  erected  by  means  of  funds  raised 
by  general  subscription.  The  principal  room  of  this  build- 
ing was  designed,  and  was  used  for  several  years  as  a 
lecture-room  in  connection  with  the  church.  The  Ruling 
Elders  of  this  period  were  Samuel  Clarke,  John  C.  Sowers, 
Jacob  Lease,  Dr.  A.  Waddell,  William  H.  Allen,  Lyttle- 
ton  Waddell  and  William  A.  Bell.  Mr.  Stevenson  re- 
signed his  pastoral  office  in  1844,  the  relation  being  dis- 
solved April  2d,  and  returned  to  New  York.  Mr.  R.  R. 
Howison  occupied  the  pulpit  about  six  months.  The  Rev. 
Benjamin  M.  Smith  (afterwards  Dr.  Smith,  long  a  pro- 
fessor in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Hampden-Sidney) 
was  the  next  pastor.  He  was  installed  on  Saturday, 
November  22,  1845.  During  his  incumbency  the  manse  in 
which  the  pastors  of  the  church  have  since  resided  was 
erected,  chiefly  through  the  agency  of  Mr.  Bailey.  Large 
additions  to  the  seminary  were  projected  by  Mr.  Smith, 
and  the  first  election  of  Deacons  was  made  during  his 
ministry  here.     He  resigned  his  charge  in  1854. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  R.  Wilson,  professor  in  Hampden- 
Sidney  College,  accepted  a  call  from  the  congregation  in 
December,  1854,  and  removed  to  Staunton  the  last  week 

[36] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

in  March  following.  He  was  installed  June  24,  1855. 
While  he  resided  here  the  enlargement  of  the  seminary 
as  previously  planned  was  accomplished,  so  as  to  provide 
a  residence  for  the  principal  and  his  assistants  and  board- 
ing for  a  considerable  number  of  pupils.  The  principal 
room  of  the  centre  building  was  then  converted  into  a 
study  hall,  and  the  large  basement  apartment  in  the 
eastern  wing  was  used  as  a  congregational  lecture-room. 
The  church  building  was  also  enlarged  and  otherwise 
improved. 

Mr.  Wilson  remained  in  Staunton  a  little  more  than 
two  years.  His  pastoral  relation  was  dissolved  October 
8,  1857,  and  he  removed  to  Augusta,  Georgia,  to  take 
charge  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  that  city.  He  has 
since  then  been  successively  professor  in  the  Theological 
Seminaries  at  Columbia,  South  Carolinia,  and  Clarksville, 
Tennessee.  The  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was  long 
ago  conferred  upon  him.  He  is  the  father  of  Dr.  Wood- 
row  Wilson,  president  of  the  Princeton  University,  who 
was  born  here. 

His  successor  was  the  Rev.  William  E.  Baker,  who 
commenced  his  labors  on  the  1st  of  December,  1857,  but 
was  not  installed  until  April  23,  1859.  Since  then  the 
church  and  congregation  have  made  marked  progress. 
The  number  of  church  members  has  greatly  increased ; 
the  Seminary  has  grown  to  its  present  dimensions,  being 
capable  of  accommodating  within  its  walls  two  hundred 
and  fifty  pupils,  besides  officers  and  employes;  and  the 
size  of  the  congregation  demanding  it,  the  work  of  erect- 
ing a  larger  and  more  commodious  church  edifice  on 
another  site  was  begun  in  the  summer  of  1870.  The  congre- 
gation worshiped  in  the  old  church  for  the  last  time  on 
Sunday,  June  25,  1871,  and  on  the  next  day  it  was  occu- 
pied by  workmen  to  be  fitted  up  as  part  of  Augusta  Female 
Seminary.  Subsequently,  by  authority  of  an  Act  of  the 
Legislature,  the  property  was  conveyed  by  the  trustees  of 

[371 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

the  church  to  the  trustees  of  the  Seminary.  The  new 
church  was  not  completed  till  1872,  but  for  some  time  pre- 
viously the  congregation  worshiped  in  the  basement 
lecture  room. 

The  following  is  from  the  Staunton  Spectator  of  June 
11,  1872: 

DEDICATION  OF  THE  NEW  CHURCH 

The  services  in  the  new  Presbyterian  Church  of  this  place  on  last 
Sabbath  were  of  an  interesting  character.  In  the  morning  the  dedica- 
tion of  that  large  and  splendid  church,  in  the  afternoon  the  thanks- 
giving services  in  connection  therewith,  and  in  the  evening  the  anni- 
versary celebration  of  the  Sabbath  School  of  that  congregation. 

Before  the  hour— 11  o'clock  a.  m. — arrived  for  the  beginning  of 
the  services  attending  the  dedication,  that  very  large  church  was  filled 
to  its  capacity,  both  on  the  floor  and  in  the  gallery.  The  exercises 
were  commenced  by  the  rendition  in  admirable  style  by  the  choir  of  an 
anthem  composed  some  twenty  years  since  by  Mr.  J.  W.  Alby,  of  this 
place.  Rev.  Dr.  Moses  D.  Hoge,  of  Richmond,  then  offered  a  brief 
prayer,  after  which  the  137th  Psalm,  second  part,  was  sung.  After 
an  earnest  prayer  by  the  Pastor— Rev.  Wm.  E.  Baker— he  stated  that 
the  Building  Committee  would  report;  whereupon  the  chairman  of  that 
committee,  William  Frazier,  Esq.,  read  the  following: 

ARCHITECTURAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  NEW  CHURCH,  BY  MAJ.   THOS.    H. 
WILLIAMSON,  PROFESSOR  OF  ARCHITECTURE  AND  CIVIL  ENGINEER- 
ING IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITARY  INSTITUTE,   LEXINGTON 

The  new  Presbyterian  Church  in  Staunton  is  of  the  same  style  as 
that  selected  by  Gen.  R.  E.  Lee  for  the  Chapel  of  Washington  and  Lee 
University.     The  style  of  both  is  the  modernized  Norman. 

The  Norman,  the  Saxon,  and  the  Lombard  are  all  of  the  same  fam- 
ily, and  had  their  origin  among  the  early  Christians.  The  first  Chris- 
tian churches  of  Great  Britain  were  Saxon,  and  the  sturdy  English  and 
Scotch-Irish  races  first  worshipped  the  only  God  in  these  massive, 
thick-walled  temples  with  short,  thick,  round  columns,  the  round- 
headed  windows  and  deeply  recessed  and  circular-headed  doors.  The 
Norman  differs  from  the  Saxon  in  the  amplification  of  all  its  parts.  The 
Normans  were  fond  of  stateliness  and  magnificence,  and  though  they 
retained  the  other  characteristics  of  the  Saxon  style,  yet  by  the  ampli- 
fication of  dimensions  and  the  elaboration  of  details,  they  made  such  a 
striking  change  and  improvement  as  to  entitle  it  to  be  characterized 
as  a  new  order  of  architecture. 

[38] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


No  people  ever  exhibited  an  example  of  so  rapid  transition  from 
the  excess  of  pagan  barbarism  and  of  the  worship  of  Odin,  their  idol 
god,  to  the  Christian  civilization,  industry  and  refinement  as  did  the 
Normans  on  the  cession  of  Normandy  to  them  by  Charles  the  Simple, 
A.  D,  912,  and  on  the  alliance  of  his  daughter  with  their  valorous 
leader, Roller,  when  they  quickly  became  earnest  converts  to  the  Chris- 
tian faith. 

The  Normans  were  unquestionably  the  finest  race  of  men  that 
ever  poured  forth  from  the  regions  of  the  North.  Amidst  the  bar- 
barism, the  obscurity  and  the  ignorance  of  the  middle  ages,  they 
seem  to  rise  up  like  a  superior  generation  of  beings  to  advance  the 
cause  of  civilization  and  religion.  By  dint  of  their  bravery  they 
established  themselves  in  France,  founded  a  dynasty  in  Italy,  wrested 
Sicily  from  the  Saracens,  and  finally  became  the  conquerors  of  Eng- 
land. They  were  warm-hearted  and  sincere  to  their  friends,  generous 
and  humane  to  their  vanqishued  enemies,  and,  indeed,  to  them  may  be 
attributed  many  of  the  best  and  highest  qualities  which  at  present 
constitute  the  boast  of  the  English  and  Virginian  character. 

It  is  pleasant,  then,  to  see  our  churches  built  in  a  style  which 
originated  and  prevailed  with  our  noble  and  Christian  forefathers,  and 
that  we  are  taught  by  the  same  Bible  to  worship  the  same  God. 

The  Staunton  Church,  though  in  the  modernized  Norman  style,  in 
consequence  of  the  many  modern  improvements,  yet  retains  the  round- 
headed  windows  and  doors,  the  stately  and  magnificent  tower,  and  in- 
stead of  the  open  timber  roof  and  ceiling  of  the  middle  ages  has  in- 
troduced the  modern  arched  ceiling  sunk  in  deep  caissons  or  panels  by 
moulded  and  otherwise  ornamented  ribs.  The  crown  or  key-stone  rib 
has  the  modern  movable  ventilator  inserted,  quite  unknown  to  our 
Norman  ancestry.  The  styles  and  mouldings  of  the  panel  work  are 
rendered  in  walnut  and  the  sunken  panel  of  yellow  poplar,  oiled  and 
varnished  on  the  natural  grain.  The  gallery  front  and  the  ceiling  un- 
der the  gallery  are  made  to  correspond  in  style  and  finish,  and  the 
whole  effect  is  most  pleasing  and  presents  a  very  rich  appearance. 
The  cornice,  also,  which  surrounds  this  audience  room  is  beautiful  and 
in  accord  with  the  general  style.  The  pulpit,  platform,  and  desk  are 
in  solid  black  walnut,  very  richly  treated  and  yet  in  perfect  good 
taste.  The  walls  are  in  course  of  being  plastered  in  sand  finish  with  a 
beautiful  neutral  tint  of  French  gray.  The  stained  glass  windows 
have  all  been  subscribed  for,  I  understand,  by  individuals,  even  to  the 
smallest  ones  in  the  two  towers.  The  spire  is  now  rapidly  going  up, 
which  is  another  of  the  more  modern  inventions  grafted  on  the  old  Nor- 
man, but  has  been  accepted  by  all  Christians  as  the  finger  of  Christian- 


[39] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


ity,  ever  pointing  to  the  dwelling-place  of  the  only  true  God,  and  direct- 
ing all  mankind  to  His  throne.  T.  H.  W. 

After  reading  the  above,  Mr.  Frazier  delivered  the  keys  of  the 
building  to  the  pastor,  who,  on  behalf  of  the  congregation,  expressed 
thanks  to  the  committee  for  the  efficient  manner  in  which  they  had  dis- 
charged the  arduous  and  perplexing  duties  devolved  upon  them. 

The  567th  hymn  was  then  sung,  after  which  Rev.  Dr.  Hoge  de- 
livered the  dedicatory  sermon.  He  took  as  his  text  the  22d  verse  of 
the  45th  chapter  of  Isaiah  : 

*'Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the  earth;  for  I  am 
Ood,  and  there  is  none  else.'' 

He  prefaced  his  remarks  by  stating  that  he  would  not  preach  a 
sermon  like  those  usually  preached  on  similar  occasions — that  they 
were  quite  proper,  but  that  on  this  occasion  he  would  discuss  a  subject 
of  more  importance  than  those  usually  treated  of  on  such  occasions. 
The  theme  of  his  discourse  was  "Salvation,"  which,  in  a  sermon  of 
an  hour's  length,  he  discussed  in  an  able  and  eloquent  manner,  and 
presented  forcibly  the  diffei-ent  important  ideas  embraced  in  the  text, 
which  he  analyzed  clearly  and  illustrated  graphically.  At  the  con- 
clusion of  his  discourse,  in  a  solemn  and  impressive  manner,  he  dedi- 
cated the  new  church  to  the  worship  of  God  and  the  preaching  of  the 
blessed   Gospel   of  Jesus  Christ. 

THANKSGIVING   SERVICE 

The  thanksgiving  meeting  in  connection  with  the  dedication  of  the 
church  was  held  at  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  In  addition  to  the  pastor 
of  that  church,  the  services  were  participated  in  by  Rev,  Geo.  B.  Tay- 
lor, pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  of  Staunton;  Rev.  Jas.  Murray,  pas- 
tor of  Bethel  Church  in  this  county  ;  Dr.  Moses  D.  Hoge,  of  Rich- 
mond ;  Rev.  Daniel  B.  Ewing  pastor  of  Hebron  Church, in  this  county; 
Rev.  D.  M.  Gilbert,  pastor  of  the  Lutheran  Church  of  Staunton  ;  Rev. 
J.  I.  Miller,  principal  of  the  Staunton  Female  Seminary,  and  Rev. 
R.  S.  Walker,  pastor  of  Union  Church  in  this  county. 

The  services  were  opened  by  a  voluntary,  "Lord  of  Hosts,"  by 
the  choir,  which  was  rendered  in  admirable  style. 

Then  an  appropriate  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Mr.  Ewing,  after 
which  Rev.  Mr.  Gilbert  read  the  84th  Psalm,  third  part,  which  was 
sung  by  the  choir. 

Rev.  Mr.  Baker  then  delivered  a  brief  address  of  welcome  to  the 
ministers  and  members  of  other  denominations  who  were  present. 

Rev.  Geo.  B.  Taylor  responded  on  behalf  of  the  ministers  of 
Staunton  in  a  sensible  and  suitable  manner,  aftfer  which  appropriate 

[40] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


addresses  of  congratulation  were  delivered  by  Rev.    Mr.    Murray  and 
Dr.  Hoge,  which  were  of  an  interesting  character. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  addresses,  Rev.  J.  I.  Miller  offered  an 
earnest  prayer,  after  which  Rev.  Mr.  Walker  read  the  122d  Psalm, 
which  was  sung  by  the  choir.  The  services  closed  with  the  singing  of 
the  doxology. 

During  Mr.  Baker's  pastorate,  and  shortly  after  the 
close  of  the  war,  in  1865,  Mr.  T.  B.  Coleman,  a  member 
of  the  Staunton  Church,  began  to  hold  prayer-meetings  in 
a  neglected  neighborhood,  two  miles  east  of  town,  on  the 
Waynesboro  road.  This  service  grew  into  a  Sunday  school 
in  a  public  school  house,  which  the  ladies  of  the  Staunton 
Church  helped  to  build.  After  a  time  it  was  thought  de- 
sirable to  have  a  separate  house  of  worship,  and  finally 
Olivet  Chapel  was  erected  on  ground  donated  by  the 
Messrs.  Doom.  There  Sunday  school  and  other  services 
have  been  held  on  Sabbath  afternoons  by  members  of  the 
Staunton  Church,  the  pastor  and  other  ministers  occas- 
ionally preaching.  During  several  years  various  young 
ministers  were  employed  from  time  to  time  to  preach  at 
that  point.  Of  the  people  connected  with  the  chapel  more 
than  thirty  became  church  members.  In  1898  Olivet  was 
organized  as  a  separate  church,  having  a  pastor  of  its  own. 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Southern  Presbyterian 
Church  began  its  session  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Staunton  on  May  19,  1881.  The  Assembly  was  at  that 
date  composed  of  twelve  Synods,  sixty-seven  Presbyteries, 
one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty-eight  Churches, 
with  one  thousand  and  sixty  ministers,  and  a  membership 
of  120,028. 

The  opening  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  T.  A. 
Hoyt,  D.  D.,  of  Nashville,  Tenn.,  from  Galatains,  1st 
chapter  and  6th  and  7th  verses.  Dr.  Wm.  Brown,  Perm- 
anent Clerk,  called  the  roll,  and  Rev.  R.  P.  Farris,  D.  D., 
of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  was  elected  Moderator,  and  Rev.  G.  A. 
Trenholm,  of  Bethel  Presbytery,  South  Carolina,  Reading 
Clerk. 

[41] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

At  that  time  the  entire  Missionary  force,  under  the 
direction  of  the  church,  consisted  of  eighteen  ordained 
missionaries,  one  missionary  physician,  twenty-six  assis- 
tant missionaries  from  this  country,  thirteen  ordained  na- 
tive assistants,  variously  employed  as  teachers,  colporters, 
and  Bible  readers,  making  ninety-three  in  all.  The  re- 
ceipts for  the  year  were  $59,215.39.  Lectures  on  foreign 
missions  were  delivered  by  Rev.  Dr.  Palmer  and  Rev.  Dr. 
T.  A.  Hoyt. 

After  a  nine  days'  session  the  Assembly  adjourned  to 
meet  in  Atlanta,  Ga.,  in  May,  1882. 

The  Ruling  Elders  during  Mr.  Baker's  incumbency, 
but  not  all  at  the  same  time,  were  Lyttleton  Waddell, 
William  A.  Bell,  John  Wayt,  John  Trimble,  James  Gilke- 
son,  John  B.  Tinsley,  Alexander  H.  Taylor,  Joseph  A. 
Waddell,  William  J.  Nelson,  John  K.  Woods,  John  Paris, 
Dr.  J.  Alexander  Waddell,  Davis  A.  Kayser,  T.  B.  Cole- 
man, Dr.  George  S.  Walker,  Charles  Grattan,  John  Echols, 
Robt.  D.  Lilley,  Henry  L.  Hoover,  and  Henry  D.  Peck. 

Mr.  Baker  resigned  his  charge  early  in  1884,  and  was 
released  by  Presbytery  on  the  20th  of  February. 


[42] 


CHAPTER  V 

REV.    JOHN  PHILIP   STRIDER,    D.    D. 

THE  Rev.  John  P.  Strider  having  been  elected  pastor, 
was  installed  November  23,  1884.  The  committee 
of  Presbytery  officiating  on  that  occasion  were  the 
Rev.  Dr.  C.  R.  Vaughan  and  the  Rev.  W.  M.  McElwee. 
During  Mr.  Strider's  brief  pastorate,  the  Rev.  Dr.  William 
Dinwiddle  conducted  services  in  the  congregation  for  ten 
days  or  more,  and  as  the  result  one  hundred  persons  were 
received  into  the  church,  February  8,  1885,  some  six  or 
eight  being  received  afterwards. 

Mr.  Strider's  health  being  seriously  impaired,  he 
found  himself  unable  to  perform  the  duties  of  pastor.  He 
therefore  resigned  and  accepted  a  professorship  in  Wash- 
ington and  Lee  University,  which  had  recently  conferred 
upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  He  was  re- 
leased by  Presbytery  September  24,  1885,  and  died  in 
Staunton,  in  January,  1886.  During  his  pastorate  the  fol- 
lowing Elders  were  elected  and  installed:  John  Murray, 
Dr.  N.  Wayt,  and  James  N.  McFarland. 


"AT  REST" 

DEATH  OF 

REV.  JOHN  p.  STRIDER,  D.  D. 

No  lovelier  manifestation  of  mutual  esteem  and  affection  between 
pastor  and  people — between  hearts  bound  in  Christian  attachment  and 
sympathy — was  ever  exhibited  in  a  community  in  a  higher  degree  than 
was  in  this  during  the  few  but  eventful  months  which  have  passed 
since  Dr.  Strider  assumed  the  pastorate  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  in  this  city.     His  frequent  visits  since  entering,  last  Fall,  upon 

[43] 


Rev.  John  P.  Strider,  D.  D. 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


his  duties  at  Washington  and  Lee  University,  added  to  the  fervor  of 
the  friendship  previously  existing,  and  not  only  his  former  congrega- 
gation,  but  many  in  the  community  likewise,  could  not  but  regret  the 
separation.  A  few  weeks  since  intelligence  was  received  here  that  his 
health  had  again  failed,  and  that  he  had  called  a  sister  to  his  bedside 
at  Lexington,  who  at  once  obeyed  the  solemn  summons.  About  three 
weeks  since,  in  feeble  and  rapidly  failing  health,  he  was  brought  to 
the  home  of  his  attached  friend,  Mr.  G.  G.  Gooch,  in  this  city.  Day 
by  day  and  night  after  night  since,  an  anxious  enquiry  for  his  welfare 
moved  every  heart.  Able  and  sympathetic  physicians,  prayerful 
hearts  and  tender  hands  did  all  that  human  skill  could  devise  for  his 
rehef.  With  him  have  been  his  sister  and  his  father  and  friends  with- 
out number.  On  Saturday,  the  23d  instant,  at  six  and  a-half  p.  m.,  he 
breathed  his  last.  During  the  Sabbath,  and  until  the  obsequies,  the 
body,  reposing  in  the  casket  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Gooch,  was  visited 
by  large  numbers  of  persons.  The  plate  upon  the  casket  had  but  a 
short  line  engraved  upon  it,  but  it  was  full  of  significance.  In  Ger- 
man text  were  the  expressive  words— "At  Rest"— reminding  all  of 
the  impressiveness  and  the  beauty  of  his  prayers  on  like  occasions, 
when  he  would  lay  "At  Rest"  the  forms  of  those  who  had  kept  the 
faith  and  had  departed  in  peace. 

HIS   YOUTHFUL   LIFE 

John  Philip  Strider  was  one  of  several  children,  sons  and  daugh- 
ters of  John  H.  Strider,  of  Jefferson  county,  now  West  Virginia.  He 
was  born  in  July,  1848.  In  1853,  his  father  removed  to  Washington  city, 
and  as  soon  as  he  was  old  enough,  this  son  entered  a  primary  school  there. 
He  was  studious  above  his  years,  unfolding  a  character  for  resolution, 
courage,  and  elevated  bearing  in  the  development  of  those  traits 
which  are  not  usually  so  conspicuous  in  one  of  his  age.  When  he  was 
only  ten  years  of  age  his  father  was  called  to  the  far  west  upon  the 
borders  of  the  settlements  and  the  son  accompanied  him,  and,  to 
gratify  his  expressed  desire,  was  allowed  to  prolong  his  stay,  and  he 
travelled  alone  over  four  hundred  miles  through  the  settlements,  often 
walking  long  distances  before  he  rejoined  his  father,  who  had  local 
business  engagements  requiring  his  constant  time  in  Missouri. 

The  events  which  culminated  in  war  between  the  States  caused 
his  father  to  return  with  his  family  to  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  This 
son  was  placed  under  the  tuition  of  Major  Jed  Hotchkiss,  then  con- 
ducting the  "Loch  Willow"  school  in  Augusta  cuunty.  He  had  not 
been  there  long,  before  that  school,  like  hundreds  of  others,  was  dis- 
continued. Washington  College  continued  an  academic  course  during 
most  of  the  war,  and  to  that  institution  he  made  his  way,  and  was  re- 

[45] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


ceived  into  the  family  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  McElwee,  then  residing  near 
Lexington.  Here  he  pursued  his  studies  with  occasional  interrup- 
tions, when  called  out  in  the  reserve  forces  of  military  defense,  of 
which  youths  under  eighteen  years  formed  a  part.  He  volunteered, 
and  was  in  the  battle  of  Piedmont,  receiving  a  severe  wound.  He 
was  cared  for  at  the  kind  home  of  Mrs.  Thos.  McCue,  where  he  re- 
mained three  months  till  able  to  return  to  his  home. 

A  GRADUATE  —CHURCH  COMMISSION 

After  1865,  and  when  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee  became  president  of  the 
college,  he  was  still  a  student,  and  attracted  the  special  attention  of 
that  great  man,  who  would  not  consent  to  a  contemplated  withdrawal 
of  him  on  his  father's  part.  Continuing,  he  graduated  in  1868,  and 
immediately  thereafter,  in  association  with  two  other  young  gentle- 
men, was  sent  to  Kentucky  upon  an  important  church  mission.  He 
had  previously,  in  1863,  under  the  pastorate  of  the  late  Rev.  Wm.  S. 
White,  D.  D.,  then  at  Lexington,  connected  himself  with  the  church, 
and  had  determined  to  prepare  himself  for  the  ministry.  His  com- 
mission to  Kentucky,  occupying  three  years,  was  well  performed,  and 
during  the  time  all  his  energies  which  could  be  applied  to  the  conse- 
crated work  he  had  in  view  were  so  exerted,  with  characteristic  de- 
votion to  his  Master's  work. 

TRAVELS  AND  STUDIES  IN  FOREIGN  COUNTRIES 

Returning  from  Kentucky  in  1871,  he,  in  company  with  two  young 
associates,  made  a  tour  in  Europe,  and  in  parts  of  Asia  and  Africa. 
Two  winters  were  occupied  respectively  at  the  universities  in  Berhn 
and  Leipsic.  The  summer  months  were  spent  in  traveling.  He 
visited  the  countries  of  Western  Europe,  and  was  on  the  Russian 
borders.  He  was  in  Egypt  and  Palestine,  and  observed,  for  several 
months,  a  corps  of  scientists  exploring  at  Jerusalem  for  the  founda- 
tions of  the  ancient  city.  In  Egypt  he  contracted  malarial  fever, 
which  was  seriously  felt  in  after-life  in  an  impaired  constitution.  To 
Edinburg  he  then  made  his  way  and  studied  in  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary there,  and,  with  other  students,  devoted  himself  with  much 
earnestness  to  Sabbath  school  work  in  and  around  the  city.  He  also 
taught  a  class  at  the  Seminary. 

During  his  stay  in  Europe  he  was  appointed  by  the  Governor  of 
West  Virginia  as  commissioner  to  the  World's  Exposition  at  Vienna. 

AT  UNION  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY  IN  VIRGINIA 

Whilst  in  Europe  and  on  his  travels  he  had  been  a  constant  pedes- 
trian.    Nature  and  her  works  had  charms  for  him  next  to  his   sacred 

[46J 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


calling,  and  upon  her  beauties  and  her  glories  he  always  delighted  to 
feast  his  eyes  and  mind.  It  will  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  mention 
that  he  read  of  the  great  waterfall  in  our  mountains,  on  the  border  of 
Nelson  county,  and  had  arranged  for  a  visit  there  in  the  early  Spring. 
On  his  return  from  Europe,  his  father  observed  the  great  draft 
which  had  been  made  upon  his  physical  strength,  and  desired  that  he 
should  rest  a  year,  at  least,  before  commencing  his  studies  again. 
This  he  decUned  to  do,  and  at  once  proceeded  to  the  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  where,  in  two  years,  he  was  graduated. 

ORDINATION  AND   MINISTRY 

Immediately  after  completing  the  course  at  the  Seminary  he  was 
ordained  by  the  Winchester  Presbytery  and  called  by  the  churches  at 
Rapidan  and  Mitchell's  Station,  and  afterwards  to  Culpeper  C.  H., 
where  he  remained  about  five  years,  physical  disability  often  inter- 
fering with  his  labors  as  he  desired  in  constancy  to  perform  them.  He 
made  occasional  winter  visits  to  the  South,  and  became  a  great  fav- 
orite in  Florida  and  Georgia.  The  intercourse  ripened  into  affection 
for  him,  and  the  church  at  Savannah  called  him  to  become  its  pastor. 
Though  reluctant  to  assume  the  great  responsibilities  of  the  charge 
without  the  physical  strength  sufficient  for  a  full  performance  of  its 
duties,  he,  however,  served  the  church  for  a  year  or  more,  and  then 
returned  to  Virginia. 

In  the  summer  of  1884,  the  pastorate  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  in  this  city  being  vacant, Dr.  Strider  was  called  to  it.  He  accept- 
ed and  entered  upon  its  duties,  and  the  early  fruits  of  his  ministry  here, 
which  were  so  signally  enriched  by  the  aid  of  Dr.  Dinwiddle  when  the 
pastor  was  too  feeble  to  continue  the  protracted  service  he  had  com- 
menced, will  long  be  remembered  in  connection  with  religious  revivals 
in  Staunton. 

Being  still  in  delicate  health,  in  the  Spring  of  1885,  his  charge  in- 
sisted that  he  should  take  rest,  and,  accordingly,  he  visited  Thomas- 
ville,  Georgia,  and  returned  after  two  months'  absence  with  the  hope, 
which  soon  proved  delusive,  that  he  could  renew  his  pulpit  labors  with 
safety  to  his  health. 

PROFESSOR   AT   WASHINGTON   AND   LEE   UNIVERSITY 

Rev.  J.  L.  Kirkpatrick,  D.  D.,  who  filled  the  Chair  of  Moral  Phil- 
osophy and  Belles-Lettres  in  Washington  and  Lee  University,  died  in 
the  early  part  of  1885.  The  attention  of  the  trustees  was  directed  to 
many  eminent  scholars  from  which  to  select  to  supply  the  vacancy.  Dr. 
Strider  was  chosen,  and,  after  due  consideration,  and  with  the  hope 

[47] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


that  the  change  of  labor  would  be  beneficial  to  his  health,  he  accepted 
the  appointment,  and  in  September  entered  upon  his  new  duties. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Church  here  not  having  as  yet  chosen  his 
successor,  his  frequent  visits  here  to  preach  and  to  administer  the 
ordinances  of  marriage,  to  bury  the  dead  and  to  offer  consolation 
to  the  sick  and  distressed,  increased  the  sincere  affection  which  bound 
his  former  charge  to  him. 

THE   OBSEQUIES 

At  three  p.  m.,  Monday  afternoon,  the  funeral  cortege  proceeded 
from  the  residence  of  Mr.  Gooch  to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church. 
The  ministers  in  attendance  were  Reverends  Henry  S.  White,  of  Win- 
chester; A.  R.  Cocke,  of  Waynesboro;  H.  H.  Hawes,  D.  D.,  of  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church;  James  Nelson,  D.  D.,  of  the  Baptist, 
and  W.  Q.  HuUihen,  of  the  Episcopal. 

The  Elders  and  Deacons  of  the  Church  had  been  designated  as 
pall-bearers,  and  all,  not  absent  or  too  much  indisposed  to  be  out, 
were  in  attendance,  as  follows  : 

W.  J.  Nelson,  Chas.  Grattan,  Henry  D.  Peck,  D.  A.  Kayser,  J.N. 
McFarland,  Thomas  A.  Bledsoe,  W.  H.  Weller,  W.  A.  Burke,  J.  H. 
Blackley,  H.  F.  Lyle,  and  Arista  Hoge,  Esqs.,  and  Dr.  N.  Wayt,  Dr. 
Geo.  S.  Walker,  and  Prof.  John  Murray.  As  pall-bearers,  also,  were 
Professors  A.  L.  Nelson  and  C.  J.  Harris,  of  Washington  and  Lee 
University,  and  Col.  J.  W.  Lyell  and  Maj.  F.  H.  Smith,  Jr.,  of  the 
Virginia  Military  Institute. 

At  the  Church  Dr.  Hawes  and  Revs.  White  and  Cocke  conducted 
the  ceremonies — the  two  latter  delivering  tributes  to  the  deceased,  in 
which  his  lovely  life,  his  genius  and  cultivation,  and  his  services  in  the 
pulpit  and  lecture  room  were  mentioned  in  feeling  and  appropriate 
terms.  Mr.  Hullihen  delivered  a  deeply  impressive  prayer  at  the 
grave. 

The  floral  offerings  were  beautiful  beyond  description.  Some  of 
them  came  from  the  Augusta  Female  Seminary.  A  pillow  of  white 
hyacinths  and  chrysanthemums,  with  the  word  "Rest"  in  raised 
letters  of  double  violets;  a  crescent  and  star  of  japonica,  white 
hyacinths,  and  white  pinks  on  an  easel  wrought  of  straw-fibre,  were 
observed  among  the  floral  tributes. 

Three  sisters  and  a  brother  of  the  deceased,  with  the  father,  were 
present. — From  Staunton  Spectator,  January  27,  1886. 


[48] 


CHAPTER  VI 

REV.    D.    K.    MCFARLAND,    D.    D. 

THE   Rev.  Dr.  D.  K.    McFarland,   of  Oxford,   Miss- 
issippi, visited  the  church  by  invitation  in  Decem- 
ber, 1885,  and  was  immediately  thereafter  elected 
pastor.     Accepting  the  office,  he  was  installed  March  21, 
1886.     The  installation  committee  were  the  Rev.    Drs. 
James  Murray  and  H.  H.  Hawes. 

REV.    DR.    D.   K.    MCFARLAND  ENTERS  UPON  HIS  DUTIES  AS  PASTOR  OF 
THE  FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH 

Rev.  Dr.  D.  K.  McFarland  entered  upon  his  duties  as  pastor  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  this  city  last  Sabbath  under  the 
most  auspicious  circumstances.  The  skies  were  bright  with  sunshine, 
and  the  weather,  though  in  midwinter,  was  as  mild  as  in  May,  and 
the  spacious  church  was  filled  with  a  deeply  interested  congregation 
who  could  not  have  failed  to  be  pleased  with  both  the  matter  and 
manner  of  his  discourse.  His  voice  is  good,  his  manner  easy  and 
graceful,  his  delivery  fluent,  his  matter  sound  and  solid,  his  arguments 
logical,  and  his  style  earnest,  clear,  plain  and  simple. 

The  sermon  in  the  morning  was  based  on  the  text:  Acts  V:  42 — 
"And  daily  in  the  temple,  and  in  every  house,  they  ceased  not  to 
teach  and  preach  Jesus  Christ."  He  contrasted  the  manner  of  preach- 
ing in  the  days  of  the  Apostles  with  that  of  the  present  age.  The 
apostolic  era  was  the  heroic  age  of  Christianity,  when  it  was  bold  and 
aggressive— now  it  is  timid  and  apologetic.  The  preachers  at  that 
time  had  but  one  mission  and  one  theme,  and  that  was  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Prince  and  Saviour,  and  so  it  should  be  now ;  and  he  announced 
upon  the  threshold  of  his  ministry  here  that  it  was  his  purpose  to 
preach  the  simple  gospel  in  a  simple  way.  The  pulpit  was  not  the 
place  to  please  the  people  by  well-written  essays,  and  fir^e  literary 
compositions,  and  eloquent  discourses  upon  subjects  affecting  society 
or  state,  but  for  teaching  and  preaching  Jesus  Christ  in  the   most 

[49] 


Rev.  D.  K.  McFauland,  D.  0, 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


earnest,  direct,  and  simple  manner  for  the  salvation  of  souls.  Persons 
should  never  leave  the  church  and  say  that  they  had  enjoyed  a  "liter- 
ary treat." 

The  sermon  in  the  evening  was  founded  on  the  text :  St.  John 
IV:  10  —'  'Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  her.  If  thou  knewest  the  gift 
of  God,  and  who  it  is  that  saith  to  thee.  Give  me  to  drink;  thou 
wouldest  have  asked  of  him,  and  he  would  have  given  thee  living 
water." 

This  sermon,  like  that  in  the  morning,  was  marked  by  clearness  of 
presentation  and  earnestness  of  manner. — From  Staunton  Spectator, 
February  17,  1S86. 

After  a  ministry  of  about  four  years.  Dr.  McFarland's 
health  began  to  fail  because  of  a  pulmonary  trouble,  con- 
tracted, it  is  thought,  in  the  course  of  the  loving  pastoral 
ministrations  for  which  he  was  so  distinguished.  His  de- 
cline began  at  once  and  continued  almost  unbroken  to  the 
end,  notwithstanding  the  most  skillful  medical  attention 
at  home  and  elsewhere  and  all  that  love  could  do  in  the 
home  and  by  a  devoted  congregation.  It  was  pathetic  in 
the  extreme  to  witness  the  gradual  wasting  away  of  that 
life  so  full  and  rich  in  all  that  goes  to  make  a  model  min- 
ister of  the  gospel. 

Fully  a  year  before  the  final  dissolution  of  his  pastoral 
relation,  he  insisted  that  his  resignation  should  be  accept- 
ed, but  his  loving  people  firmly  refused  to  consent  to  it. 
At  length  it  became  a  necessity  and  he  was  released  from 
his  office  March  15,  1892.  He  lived  for  nearly  a  year  after 
this.  The  greater  part  of  that  last  year  was  spent  away 
from  Staunton  in  quest  of  relief.  Throughout  the  time, 
the  congregation  with  its  affections  and  sympathies  pro- 
foundly stirred,  had  almost  daily  tidings  from  him. 

He  died  in  South  Carolina,  February  28,  1893,  and,  in 
accordance  with  the  earnest  wish  of  the  congregation,  his 
remains  were  brought  to  Staunton  for  interment. 

DEATH   OF   REV.    D.    K.    McFARLAND,    D.    D. 

It  is  with  inexpressible  sorrow  that  we  announce  the  death,  after 
a  protracted  illness  of  pulmonary  consumption,  complicated  with  heart 

[51J 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


disease,  of  Rev.  D.  K.  McFarland,  D.  D.,  from  March,  1886,  to  March, 
1892,  the  able  and  dearly  beloved  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  this  city,  which  occurred  at  Maysville,  S.  C,  on  Tuesday 
night  of  last  week,  Feb.  28th.  He  was  a  model  minister,  pastor,  and 
Christian  gentleman.  His  intellect  was  strong,  his  language  pure, 
his  manner  earnest,  and  his  disposition  amiable,  tender,  and  kind.  He 
won  the  hearts  of  all  who  listened  to  his  discourses  or  were  brought 
into  association  with  him  in  any  way — those  outside  of  the  church  or 
his  denomination  as  well  as  those  within — and  his  death  is  deeply 
and  universally  lamented. 

He  was  born  in  Oxford,  Miss.,  in  1849,  and  was  in  the  maturity  of 
his  faculties,  enabling  him  to  render  good  and  valuable  service  if  his 
health  and  life  could  have  been  preserved.  His  mother  was  a  Miss  Mor- 
rison, of  North  Carolina,  a  cousin  of  Mrs.  "Stonewall"  Jackson, and  his 
wife  was  a  Miss  Witherspoon  of  South  Carolina,  who,  with  his  two 
daughters — Nannie  and  Abbie— survive  to  mourn  their  irreparable  loss. 
His  daughters  are  pupils  of  the  Augusta  Female  Seminary.  He  was 
educated  at  the  University  of  Mississippi,  and  afterwards  at  the 
Columbia  (S.  C.)  Theological  Seminary.  His  first  pastorate  was  at 
Savannah,  Ga.,  and  then  at  Oxford,  Miss.,  from  which  he  was  called 
to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  this  city,  to  fill  the  vacancy 
caused  by  the  lamented  death  of  Rev.  Dr.  J.  P.  Strider. 

In  compliance  with  his  expressed  wishes,  his  remains  were  brought 
to  this  city  for  interment.  They  arrived  here  on  Friday  morning,  and 
the  funeral  services  took  place  at  11  o'clock  at  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  which  was  filled  with  his  sorrowing  admirers  and  friends. 
After  lying  in  state  in  the  vestibule  for  half  an  hour,  the  remains,  at 
11  o'clock,  were  borne  into  the  church  by  the  active  pall-bearers, 
W.  A.  Burke,  H.  F.  Lyle,  H.  A.  Walker,  J.  A.  Templeton,  Jas.  H. 
Blackley,  J.  W.  Alby,  W.  H.  Weller,  Arista  Hoge  and  Dr.  S.  H. 
Henkel,  and  placed  in  front  of  the  pulpit. 

The  following  were  the  honorary  pall-bearers  (both  the  active  and 
honorary  being  officers  of  the  church)  J.  N.  McFarland,  Professor 
John  Murray,  Judge  Charles  Grattan,  D.  A.  Kayser,  Dr.  N.  Wayt, 
Dr.  George  S.  Walker,  Hon.  J.  A.  Waddell  and  H.  L.  Hoover. 

As  the  remains  were  borne  in,  the  hymn,  "Come  unto  me  when 
the  shadows  darkly  gather, "  etc.  was  sweetly  sung  by  Messrs.  Ed. 
Timberlake  and  C.  R.  Caldwell,  and  Misses  Fannie  and  Ella  Paris. 

Then  "Rock  of  Ages"  was  sung  by  the  same  with  the  addition  of 
Mrs.  Mary  Crawford  Darrow,  of  the  Augusta  Female  Seminary. 

Then  an  appropriate  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  G.  W.  Finley, 
D.  D.,  pastor  of  Tinkling  Spring  Church.  Rev.  J.  E.  Booker,  pastor 
of  Hebron  Church,  then  read  the  scripture  lessons,  after  which  brief, 

[52] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


but  eloquent  and  touching,  tributes  to  the  memory  of  the  deceased 
were  delivered  by  Rev.  Dr.  Finley  and  Rev.  J.  S.  Gardner,  D.  D.,  Pre- 
siding Elder  of  this  District  of  the  Baltimore  Conference  of  the  M.  E. 
Church  South. 

Mrs.  Darrow  then  sang  "Come  ye  Disconsolate,"  etc. 

Then  Dr.  McCoy,*  of  South  Carolina,  a  physician,  who  attended 
Dr.  McFarland  during  his  last  illness,  in  compliance  with  the  wishes 
of  the  family  of  the  deceased,  and  on  their  part  expressed  their  great 
appreciation  of  the  affection  and  kindness  of  the  congregation.  He 
spoke  also  of  the  last  moments  of  the  deceased  and  the  sublime  Chris- 
tian resignation  he  manifested. 

The  closing  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  W.  Q.  HuUihen,  rector  of 
Trinity  Episcopal  Church,  when  the  services  at  the  church  were  con- 
cluded by  the  singing  of  the  hymn,  "How  Firm  a  Foundation,"  etc. 

The  remains  were  then  taken  to  Thornrose  cemetery  and  buried 
beside  those  of  Rev.  J.  P.  Strider,  D.  Ti.—From,  Staunton  Spectator, 
March  8,  1S93. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Session  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Staunton,  on  March  5,  1893,  the  following 
memorial  of  their  late  pastor  was  adopted  and  ordered  to 
be  recorded  and  published  : 

Mr.  McFarland  was  borne  March  10, 1848,  near  Oxford,  Mississippi, 
and  educated  at  the  University  of  that  State  and  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Columbia,  South  Carolina.  His  first  ministerial  work 
was  as  pastor  of  Hopewell  Church,  in  which  he  was  baptized  and 
reared,  and  to  which  he  was  invited  before  he  left  the  Seminary  in 
May,  1873.  Having  served  this  church  for  eighteen  months,  he  ac- 
cepted a  call  to  become  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Savannah,  Georgia.  During  his  residence  there  of  about  seven  years, 
the  city  was  devastated  by  yellow  fever,'  and  remaining  at  his  post,  he 
fell  a  victim  to  the  disease  and  suffered  a  protracted  illness,  from 
which,  however,  he  entirely  recovered.  In  January,  1877,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Annie  R.  Witherspoon,  of  South  Carolina.  Receiving 
a  call  to  Oxford,  Mississippi,  he  ministered  to  that  people  from  about 
1882  till  1886.  On  the  21st  of  March,  1886,  he  was  installed  by  Lex- 
ington Presbytery  pastor  of  this  church.  His  health  failing,  the  rela- 
tion was  dissolved  March  15,  1892.     He  died  near  Maysville,  S.  C,  at 


*NoTE— The  gentleman  here  referred  to  is  the  Rev.  W.  J.  McKay,  D,  D.,  an  eminent 
minister  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  South  Carolina,  and  a  brother-in-law  of  Dr. 
McFarland.    The  name  is  pronounced  "McCoy,"  hence  the  mistake  above. 


[53] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


the  former  home  of  his  wife,  at  11  o'clock  Tuesday  night,  February 
28,  1893,  leaving  a  widow  and  two  young  daughters. 

For  the  rest,  despairing  of  finding  words  of  our  own  to  express 
our  appreciation  of  our  late  pastor,  and  our  grief  on  account  of  his 
early  death,  we  gladly  adopt  the  following  tribute  prepared  by  the 
Rev.  D.  W.  Shanks,  D.  D.,  in  every  sentiment  of  which  we  heartily 
concur: 

"We  are  often,  in  obituaries,  under  the  stress  of  friendship  and 
sympathy,  tempted  beyond  the  point  of  resistance,  to  indulge  in  ex- 
cessive praise  of  the  dead.  But  in  this  instance  there  is  little  danger 
of  transgressing  the  bounds  of  propriety  and  truth  and  offending  pub- 
lic sentiment  by  unmerited  eulogy.  The  difficulty  here  is  to  do,  in  a 
brief  sketch,  complete  justice  to  an  uncommon  life  and  an  exalted 
character. 

"Dr.  McFarland  was  an  extraordinary  man  .That  he  was  so  re- 
garded in  this  community  there  is  abundant  evidence.  Very  few  men 
in  so  short  a  time  have  ever  made  such  an  abiding  impression  for  good 
upon  a  community;  won  such  universal  and  unstinted  admiration,  and 
entrenched  themselves  so  strongly  in  the  esteem,  sympathy  and  love 
of  all  classes  as  he  did.  Tongues  which  lashed  all  others  have  either 
spoken  his  praise  or  been  dumb  under  the  spell  of  him  who 

Thro'  all  this  tract  of  years. 

Wore  the  white  flower  of  a  blameless  life. 

"He  was  one  of  the  few  who  never  uttered  an  imprudent  word,  or 
did  an  unwise  thing.  In  his  singularly  acute  sense  of  propriety  and 
his  intuitive  and  almost  infallible  appreciation  of  the  fitness  of  things, 
his  people  safely  trusted.  They  were  never  disquieted  by  the  fear 
that  through  either  forgetfulness  or  wilful  disregard  of  the  counsels 
of  Christian  prudence,  he  would,  in  what  he  said  or  did,  offend  the 
taste  or  wound  the  feelings  of  any,  or  fail  to  receive  the  approbation 
of  all.  He  was  a  Christian  gentleman  in  the  best  sense  of  these  words, 
and  always  manifested  in  word  and  manner  a  sincere  regard  for  the 
feelings  of  others.  He  possessed,  in  an  unusual  degree,  the  gift  of  a 
wise  reticence,  the  happy  talent  of  saying  in  perfect  consistency  with 
loyalty  to  truth  and  righteousness,  just  enough  to  satisfy  the  obliga- 
tion of  the  occasion  without  unnecessarily  disclosing  his  whole  mind 
and  provoking  a  personal  antagonism  and  resentment  which  would  en- 
danger his  influence  for  good  in  respect  to  other  matters  and  occa- 
sions. But  this  reserve  never  embarrassed  his  social  intercourse  or 
restrained  him  from  a  hearty  participation,  within  the  limits  of  Chris- 
tian ethics,  in  the  "feast  of  reason  and  flow  of  soul."  To  those  who 
knew  him  well,  his  fellowship  was  enticing   and   enjoyable,  and  his 

[54] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


manners  engaging,  and  affable  to  the  edge  of  a  becoming  intimacy 
and  companionship.  He  was  dignified,  but  easily  accessible  ;  serious, 
but  not  sad  ;  sober,  but  not  gloomy ;  religious,  but  not  morose— in 
touch  with  every  rational  enjoyment,  and  a  patron  of  everything  that 
is  helpful  and  tends  to  bring  to  us,  in  this  life,  all  that  is  possible  of 
heaven  this  side  of  the  actual  vision  and  possession  of  that  eternal 
and  proffered  asylum  for  all  sinners  and  all  sufferers. 

"His  pulpit  manners  were  peculiarly  solemn.  His  reading  of  the 
Scriptures  could  hardly  have  been  more  reverential  if  he  had  been 
standing  before  the  great  white  throne  and  under  the  eye  of  Him  who 
sits  thereon.  His  prayers  were  humble,  reverential,  thankful,  im- 
portunate, particular  and  comprehensive,  disclosing  a  deep  and  throb- 
bing sympathy  with  his  people  in  their  temptation,  infirmities,  needs 
and  sorrows,  and  animated  by  that  faith  which  "leans  hard"  upon  our 
Elder  Brother,  and  sees 

'Neath  winter's  field  and  snow 

The  silent  harvest  of  the  future  good. 

"His  sermons,  simple,  logical  and  definite  in  structure,  were  never 
marred  by  the  decorations  of  a  garish  rhetoric  or  the  confusing  corus- 
cations of  genius  which  "blind  with  excessive  light."  The  usual  ex- 
position of  the  context,  which  was  singularly  clear  and  instructive, 
prepared  his  hearers  for  the  oncoming  discilssion,  the  distinguishing 
features  of  which  were  transparency  and  force.  The  matter  of  his 
sermons  was  practical  and  varied,  and  adapted  to  the  spiritual  needs 
of  a  large  and  diversified  congregation.  While  there  was  nothing 
offensive  in  his  exposures  of  the  nature,  deadly  influence,  and  certain 
end  of  sin,  unless  forgiven,  there  was  also  no  uncertain  sound — no 
timid,  apologetic  criminal  cry  of  peace  !  peace  !  when  there  was  no 
peace.  He  often  preached  as  one  who  had  a  dread  of  having  the  blood  of 
souls  upon  him.  But  he  loved  to  discuss  the  great  underlying  principles 
of  the  Gospel  in  their  manifold  relations,  and  to  reach  and  move 
men  through  the  truth  savingly  applied  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Some- 
times he  broke  forth  in  impassioned  remonstrance  and  appeals,  and  in 
his  visions  of  the  heavenly  state  with  its  eternal  fruition,  he  exhibited 
the  precious  promises  and  hopes  of  the  Gospel,  all  ablaze  with  the 
coming  glory.  In  a  word,  from  beginning  to  end,  from  the  first  syl- 
lable of  invocation  to  the  last  word  of  benediction,  his  pulpit  perform- 
ances were  marked  by  reverence  and  profound  conviction  of  a  living 
and  personal  God,  and  singleness  of  purpose^the  one  end  of  all  being 
to  save  men  and  exalt  God,  and  whatever  other  impression  was  made, 
this  one  every  reflecting  hearer  certainly  carried  away  with  him— 
"there  is  one  man  who  believes  what  he  preaches." 

[55] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


As  a  pastor,  Dr.  McFarland  was  a  model  of  wisdom,  tact,  and 
fidelity.  He  was  affable,  untiring,  self-denying;  in  touch  with  high 
and  low,  rich  and  poor,  the  recognized  friend  of  all  ;  suffering  that 
others  might  rejoice;  a  benediction  in  the  house  of  affliction;  the 
blessed  comforter  at  the  couch  of  the  sick  and  dying,  and  the  grave  of 
the  dead.  And  so,  regardless  of  the  remonstrances  of  friendship,  the 
appeals  of  his  suffering  body,  and  the  wishes  of  an  affectionate  and 
fearful  people,  he  went  about  doing  good ,  pouring  out  a  feeble  and 
waning  life  in  countless  channels  of  blessing,  till  at  last,  under  the 
burden  of  a  great  and  felt  responsibility,  and  worn  down  by  the 
chafings  of  a  soul  which  could  never  rest  as  long  as  anything  remained 
to  be  done,  like  a  hero — as  he  was— with  the  banner  of  his  Master  in 
his  hand,  he  fell  prostrate  in  the  house  of  God.  And  then  through  the 
succeeding  months  of  decline  and  suffering,  during  all  which,  however 
thick  earth's  damps,  it  was  to  him  "always  daylight  towards  the 
Father's  face,"  he  waited  patiently  for  the  final  summons,  and  that 
last  day,  which  was  no  doubt  to  him  a  bright  day— 

"The  bridal  of  the  earth  and  sky." 

"Is  it  any  wonder  that  his  stricken  people  asked  the  privilege  of 
being  the  guardians  of  his  dust  in  this  city  where  his  character  and 
life  have  already  builded  for  him  a  monument  more  lasting  than 
marble  or  brass. 

Servant  of  God,  well  done  ! 

Rest  from  thy  loved  employ  ; 
The  battle  fought,  the  victory  won. 

Enter  thy  Master's  joy." 


[56] 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  REV.  D.  W.  SHANKS,  D.  D. 
By  rev.  a.  m.  fraser,  d.  d. 

THAT  period  in  the  experience  of  the  First  Church 
which  was  covered  by  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
D.  W.  Shanks  will  never  be  forgotten  by  any  one  who 
was  present.  Dr.  Shanks  was  not  the  pastor  of  the  church, 
but  acted  as  stated  supply  for  two  years.  He  began  at  the 
time  when  Dr.  McFarland's  failing  health  compelled  him 
to  suspend  his  labors,  and  continued  after  the  dissolution 
of  the  pastoral  relation  and  until  another  pastor  arrived. 
During  that  time  the  hearts  of  the  people  were  tender 
with  sympathy  and  anxiety  for  the  greatly  loved  pastor, 
whose  health  was  steadily  declining  and  whose  sufferings 
were  intense.  They  needed  consolation  and  were,  to  an 
unusual  degree,  susceptible  to  the  ministrations  of  religion. 
Dr.  Shanks,  by  his  poise  and  dignity,  his  cheerful,  genial 
and  affectionate  disposition,  and  his  strong,  bright,  hope- 
ful preaching,  proved  the  very  minister  to  supply  their 
needs.  Not  only  our  own  congregation  but  the  whole  com- 
munity was  drawn  to  him. 

It  is  therefore  proper  that  this  book  should  contain 
some  account  of  his  life.  The  following  sketch  has  been 
culled  from  obituary  and  memorial  tributes  and  newspaper 
articles  appearing  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

David  William  Shanks  was  born  in  Fincastle,  Botetourt 
County,  Virginia,  December  11,  1830.  His  parents  were 
devout  members  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  but  as  his  mother 
died  when  he  was  eighteen  months  old,  he  was  reared  by 
his  father's  sister,  Mrs.  John  T.  Anderson,  the  wife  of  a 
Presbyterian  elder.     She  gave  him  a  mother's  love  and 

[57J 


Rev.  David  William  Shanks,  D.  D. 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

watchful  care  till  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  when  he 
left  her  home  for  his  education.  It  was  years  afterwards, 
however,  before  the  godly  training  bore  fruit  and  the 
prayers  were  answered  in  an  impressive  conversion. 

He  was  educated  at  New  London  Academy,  in  Bedford 
County,  Virginia,  and  at  Washington  College,  now  Wash- 
ington and  Lee  University.  He  studied  law  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Virginia,  under  Prof.  John  B.  Minor.  Not  finding 
the  profession  congenial,  he  abandoned  it  within  a  few 
months  and  went  into  merchandizing  in  Memphis,  Tennes- 
see, and  was  very  successful.  In  1859  a  remarkable  revival 
of  rehgion  swept  over  Memphis  and  he  was  converted,  his 
conversion  occurring  in  an  obscure  Methodist  church. 
He  did  not  join  the  church  until  he  could  decide  which  of 
the  existing  denominations  appealed  to  him  as  being  nearest 
the  Bible  model.  He  did,  however,  begin  active  Christian 
work  at  once  by  holding  prayer  meetings  in  destitute  parts 
of  the  city.  It  was  not  long  before  he  joined  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  and  soon  recognized  his  call  to  the  ministry. 
He  attended  Union  Theological  Seminary  and  completed 
the  course  there  in  two  years.  He  was  licensed  to  preach 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Montgomery,  April  27,  1861.  The 
next  fall  he  took  charge  of  the  church  at  Amelia  Court 
House  which  he  served  successively  as  supply  and  pastor 
for  six  years.  He  was  then  called  to  be  the  pastor  of 
Falling  Spring  Church  to  which  he  ministered  for  sixteen 
years.  Here  he  continually  grew  upon  the  love  and  con- 
fidence of  the  people  and  in  the  esteem  of  his  brethren 
in  the  ministry.  While  here  he  received  from  Washington 
and  Lee  University  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 
When  his  health  became  impaired  his  people  still  clung  to 
him  and  to  the  hope  of  his  restoration.  Only  after  every 
recourse  was  exhausted  did  they  reluctantly  consent  to 
release  him  from  the  pastoral  tie.     He  was  never  able  to 


[59] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

resume  pastoral  duties.  He  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
Hfe  in  Lexington,  Virginia,  and  was  usually  engaged  in 
supplying  vacant  churches. 

Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  peculiar  condi- 
tions under  which  he  came  to  supply  the  First  Church, 
Staunton,  and  to  the  gracious  adaptation  of  his  presence  and 
ministry  to  the  needs  of  the  congregation  at  this  time. 
His  last  sermon  as  supply  is  worthy  of  special  mention. 
The  occasion  itself  was  eloquent,  Dr.  McFarland  had  been 
buried  two  days  before.  On  the  next  Sabbath  another 
pastor  was  to  take  charge.  A  new  era,  with  tremendous 
issues  and  uncertain  results,  was  about  to  open.  Dr. 
Shanks  appreciated  the  full  significance  of  the  critical 
moment  and  justly  portrayed  it  in  his  sermon.  The 
Staunton  Spectator  said  of  it :  "  His  morning  sermon  was 
unusually  solemn  and  excellent.  The  subject  was  the 
qualifications  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel  and  his  need  of 
the  support  and  prayers  of  his  people.  At  the  close  he 
became  truly  eloquent,  '  on  Friday  last, '  said  he,  *  the 
remains  of  your  late  pastor  were  laid  by  loving  hands  in 
Thornrose  Cemetery,  and  on  next  Sunday  your  new  pastor 
will  occupy  this  pulpit.  /  stand  between  the  living  and  the 
dead.  Oh,  that  the  mantle  of  McFarland  may  fall  upon 
his  successor !  '  The  whole  sermon  was  excellent,  and 
there  is  a  general  desire  for  its  publication." 

Only  once  more  did  he  appear  in  our  pulpit.  At  the 
request  of  the  Presbytery  of  Lexington  (of  which  he  was 
not  a  member)  he  took  part  in  the  installation  of  the  new 
pastor,  March  21,  1903.  A  few  months  after  this  he  began 
to  supply  the  church  at  Danville,  Virginia.  While  serving 
that  church  he  was  overtaken  by  his  last  illness.  The  kind, 
Christian  home  of  Mr.  W.  B.  Brooks,  an  elder  of  the  church, 
was  opened  to  him  and  there  he  received  from  the  family 
and  whole  congregation  every  attention  that  Christian  love 
and  open-hearted  liberality  could  devise.    His  illness  was 

[60] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

of  two  weeks  duration  and  was  full  of  suffering.  He  died 
just  after  midnight  in  the  morning  of  March  4,  1894,  in 
the  64th  year  of  his  age.  A  telegram  announcing  his  death 
reached  this  city  that  evening  while  the  First  Church  was 
engaged  in  worship.  Just  after  the  bendiction  had  been 
pronounced  and  the  congregation  had  turned  to  leave  the 
house,  a  signal  from  the  pulpit  arrested  them,  while  the 
pastor  read  the  telegram.  "  Immediately  a  death-like  hush 
fell  upon  the  Congregation,  and  it  silently  filed  out  with  a 
silence  and  awe  that  was  eloquent  with  deep  feeling." 

The  body  was  taken  to  Lexington  for  burial.  A  sim- 
ple service  was  held  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  there, 
participated  in  by  the  Rev.  T.  L.  Preston,  D.  D.,  the  Rev. 
J.  A.  Quarles,  D.  D.,  and  the  Rev.  D.  C.  Irwin.  The  fu- 
neral was  attended  by  the  following  delegation  from 
Staunton,  appointed  by  the  Session  of  the  Church  :  J.  N. 
McFarland,  Henry  L.  Hoover,  Charles  Grattan,  J.  Howard 
Wayt,  J.  A.  Templeton  and  William  A.  Burke.  A  number 
of  others  from  Staunton,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  young  and 
old,  from  within  the  church  and  without,  also  attended  out 
of  personal  respect  and  affection  for  the  deceased  man  of 
God. 

Dr.  Shanks  was  twice  married,  first  to  Miss  Niles,  of 
Holly  Springs,  Mississippi,  and  after  her  death  to  Miss 
Juliet  Irvine,  of  Bedford  County,  Virginia.  His  second 
wife  still  survives.  She  was  his  loving  and  efficient  co- 
laborer  in  the  years  of  his  sound  health  and  vigorous 
ministry  and,  by  her  faith  and  courage,  his  solace  and 
inspiration  through  the  long  period  of  his  ill  health  and 
his  trials. 

One  who  knew  him  well  wrote  of  him  thus  :  "Dr. 
Shanks  was  a  man  of  fine  presence.  Somewhat  above  the 
average  height,  he  carried  himself  with  ease  and  dignity. 
His  face  was  of  a  kind  to  arrest  attention  and  attract  con- 
fidence, intelligent,  manly,  genial.  Few  men  were  more 
generally  welcome  in  the  social  circle  than  he.    Wherever 

[611 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

he  entered  he  carried  sunshine  with  him.  He  had  the 
happy  art  of  drawing"  to  him  the  young  and  the  old,  the 
poor  and  the  rich.  Firm  in  his  convictions,  inflexible  in  his 
maintenance  of  them,  he  nevertheless  knew  how  to  treat 
with  proper  consideration  and  courtesy  those  who  differed 
from  him. 

"  As  a  preacher.  Dr.  Shanks  was  fortunate  in  that  he 
commanded  the  admiration  not  only  of  the  pews,  but  also 
of  his  ministerial  brethren  as  well.  He  ranked  easily 
among  the  foremost  preachers  of  our  Church.  He  was 
specially  happy  in  the  use  of  illustrations.  His  were 
always  judiciously  introduced  and  never  permitted  to 
usurp  an  undue  prominence  or  to  divert  the  attention 
from  the  subject  in  hand.  Withal  there  was  an  element 
of  native,  irrepressible  humor  in  the  man  which  would 
from  time  to  time  assert  itself  in  his  preaching  with  the 
happiest  effect.  It  was  kept  well  in  hand  and  never 
allowed  to  approach  levity. 

"  He  was  gifted  as  a  presbyter  as  well  as  preacher,  a 
ready  and  able  debater,  a  wise  counsellor,  and  with  a 
modest  and  genial  nature  that  made  his  presence  greatly 
valued  by  his  brethren. 

' '  The  most  beautiful  and  attractive  aspects  of  his  noble 
character  were  seen  only  in  his  home.  He  was  gentle 
and  patient  towards  all  around  him,  lenient  towards  their 
faults  and  appreciative  of  their  excellencies.  He  was 
most  unselfish,  seeking  ever  to  forget  his  own  trials  by 
ministering  to  the  happiness  of  those  around  him.  He  was 
called  to  undergo  pains  and  trials  such  as  fall  to  the  lot  of 
few  men,  and  these  sufferings  were  enhanced  by  anxieties 
for  a  large  and  dependent  family  and  by  the  disappoint- 
ment of  cherished  hopes,  but  his  faith  was  equal  to  the 
task.  He  was  not  broken  nor  soured  by  the  discipline,  but 
only  matured  by  it.     Of  him  it  can  be  truly  said  his  was 

'A  winter  faith  which  braved  the  Northern  blast, 
And  blossomed  in  the  rigor  of  its  fate.'  " 

[62] 


CHAPTER  VIII 

REV.  ABEL  McIVER  FRASER,  D.  D. 

(A  sketch  copied  with  some  changes  from  Men  of  Mark  in  Virginia) 

FRASER,  ABEL  McIVER,  D.  D.,  minister  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  was  born  in  Sumter  county.  South 
Carolina,  June  14, 1856,  and  his  parents  were  Judge 
Thomas  Boone  Eraser  and  Sarah  Margaret  Mclver.  His 
earHest  known  ancestor  was  Andrew  Moore,  who  came 
from  County  Antrim,  Ireland,  to  Sadsbury,  Pennsylvania, 
in  1723  ;  another  was  John  Eraser  who  came  from  Scot- 
land to  Georgetown,  South  Carolina,  1745  ;  and  still  an- 
other was  Roderick  Mclver,  who  came  from  Scotland  to 
Welsh  Neck  settlement,  Darlington  county.  South  Caro- 
lina, previous  to  1761.  Probably  his  most  distinguished 
ancestor  was  Col.  Andrew  Love,  who  fought  on  the  Amer- 
ican side  in  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain.  Evander  Mc- 
lver was  a  soldier  on  the  same  side  in  the  War  of  the 
Revolution. 

In  childhood  and  youth  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was 
well  and  strong.  His  home  was  in  a  town  of  about  four 
thousand  inhabitants,  but  he  made  frequent  and  extended 
visits  to  the  country.  At  the  age  of  seven  years  he  lost 
his  mother,  and  when  the  war  closed  he  was  only  nine 
years  old.  His  experience  in  the  trying  times  following 
the  war  taught  him  never  to  be  ashamed  of  any  honest 
work  and  to  respect  every  man  who  works. 

He  had  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  an  education  beyond 
that  inherent  in  the  task  and  the  trouble  of  weak  eyes. 
He  was  prepared  for  college  by  Thomas  P.  McQueen  in 
Sumter  county.  South  Corolina,  and  having  attended 
Davidson  College,  North  Carolina,  for  the  usual  time  he 

[63] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

received,  in  1876,  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  Hav- 
ing, from  his  earliest  years,  felt  the  call  to  preach,  he  at- 
tended the  Columbia  Theological  Seminary,  South  Carolina, 
for  three  years,  was  graduated  in  1880,  and  during  the 
same  year  he  began  the  active  work  of  life  at  Frank- 
fort, Kentucky.  From  1881  to  1893  he  was  pastor  of  Mt. 
Horeb  Church  in  Fayette  county,  Kentucky,  and  for  a  part 
of  that  time  Walnut  Hill  and  Bethel  churches  in  the  same 
county  were  grouped  with  Mt.  Horeb  under  his  care.  From 
March,  1893,  to  the  present  (1908)  time  he  has  been  pas- 
tor of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Staunton,  Virginia. 
He  was  moderator  of  the  Presbytery  of  West  Lexington 
in  September,  1881  ;  of  the  Presbytery  of  Lexington  in 
October,  1894  ;  and  of  the  Synod  of  Virginia  in  October, 
1903.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Southern  Presby- 
terian General  Assembly  at  Atlanta  in  1882,  and  in  New 
Orleans  in  1898.  In  1904  he  was  elected  co-ordinate  secre- 
tary of  foreign  missions  for  the  Southern  Presbyterian 
Church,  but  declined  the  honor.  In  1896,  he  was  given 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  by  his  alma  mater,  David- 
son College,  North  Carolina  and  from  Central  University 
of  Kentucky  the  same  year. 

In  1901  Dr.  Eraser,  received  an  invitation  to  the  pas- 
torate of  the  First  Church  of  Macon,  Georgia,  but  declined 
the  call  in  deference  to  the  wishes  of  his  friends  in  Staun- 
ton. The  following  is  an  extract  from  an  article  which  ap- 
peared in  the  ''Staunton  Daily  News,"  January  20,  1901  : 
"Dr.  Eraser  has  served  the  First  Church  (of  Staunton) 
about  eight  years,  having  been  called  here  from  Kentucky, 
succeeding  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  D.  K.  McFarland.  Coming 
into  the  Lexington  Presbytery  and  the  Synod  of  Virginia 
as  a  stranger  he  has  gradually  come  to  be  one  of  the  most 
influential  ministers  in  those  bodies.  His  progress  has  not 
been  made  by  any  self-seeking  on  his  part,  for  it  would  be 
difficult  to  find  a  man  of  greater  modesty  and  humility, 
but  it  has  been  due  to  his  simple  and  lovable  ways,  coupled 

[64] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

with  marked  ability  as  a  man  and  preacher.  Presby- 
terians have  found  him  a  clear  expounder  of  the  Scriptures 
of  the  old  Scotch  Covenanter  type,  who  has  himself  found 
in  them  consolation  and  been  able  to  bring  it  to  others 
without  seeking  new  interpretations  or  casting  aside  the 
old  doctrines.  His  influence  in  the  community  in  bring- 
ing all  denominations  into  close  fellowship,  whilst  quietly 
and  unostentatiously  exercised,  has  been  very  great.  In  his 
own  congregation  this  quiet  force  has  produced  results  for 
good  that  are  incalculable  and  will  prove  lasting.  In  the 
county  also  affection  for  Dr.  Eraser  is  deep-rooted,  and 
many  tender  expressions  came  from  county  Presbyterians 
yesterday,  who  heard  of  the  call." 

Dr.  Eraser  is  chaplain  of  the  Sons  of  Confederate  Vet- 
erans of  Staunton,  Virginia.  His  favorite  relaxation  is 
walking  and  quiet  home  games. 

In  reply  to  the  question  what  books  he  had  found 
most  helpful  in  fitting  him  for  his  work  in  life,  he 
answers  :  "I  read  the  Bible  through  when  I  was  thirteen 
years  old.  That  impressed  me  more  than  any  other  read- 
ing I  ever  did.  Next  to  that  in  effect  upon  me  was  Pil- 
grim's Progress.  While  studying  geometry,  logic,  and 
the  evidences  of  Christianty,  I  felt  an  expansion  of  mind 
such  as  I  have  never  undergone  at  any  other  time. " 

Asked  to  state  any  lesson  from  partial  failures  for  the 
sake  of  helping  young  people,  Dr.  Eraser  says  ;  "A 
closer  application  to  study  in  my  college  days  would  have 
enabled  me  to  attain  greater  success.  I  have  very  often 
been  unable  to  avail  myself  of  opportunities  for  the  lack 
of  what  I  might  easily  have  acquired  at  college.  Subse- 
quent application  has  never  satisfactorily  restored  what  I 
then  lost."  He  has  much  that  is  valuable  to  say  of  the 
best  means  of  promoting  sound  ideals  in  American  life  : 
"Belief  in  a  personal  God  :  a  conviction  of  man's  fall  from 
a  primative  state  of  holiness  and  the  possibility  of  restor- 
ation through  those  divine  arrangements  known  as  The 

[65] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

Plan  of  Salvation  ;  a  sense  of  stewardship  to  God  in 
all  possessions  (property,  position,  influence,  friendship, 
endowments  of  mind  and  body,  etc.) ;  and  appreciation  of 
the  illimitable  opportunities  for  personal  development  and 
service  afforded  by  voluntary  surrender  of  one's  self  to 
God  and  anticipation  of  the  heavenly  glory,  supply  a 
motive  power  in  human  life  with  which  nothing  else  can 
compare." 

Among  the  influences  which  have  shaped  his  life  he 
reckons  the  influences  of  home  as  supreme— the  home  of 
his  childhood  and  that  of  his  married  life.  The  effect 
of  early  companionship  was  partly  bad,  but  for  the  most 
part  negative.  Hardly  any  difference  existed  in  the  force 
of  the  influences  of  school,  private  study  and  contact 
with  men  in  active  life— all  of  which  were  distinct  and 
strong. 

On  July  14,  1881,  he  married  Octavia  Blanding,  a 
daughter  of  Col.  James  D.  Blanding,  who  was  an  officer  in 
the  Mexican  War,  and  commanded  a  regiment  in  the  Con- 
federate army.  Six  children  were  born  to  them  of  whom 
five  survive  at  the  present  writing. 


[66] 


CHAPTER  IX 

A  MISSIONARY  CHURCH. 

THE  present  pastor  is  the  Rev.  A.  M.  Eraser,  D.  D., 
who  was  installed  May  21,  1893.  A  native  of  South 
Carolina,  he  was  at  the  time  of  his  call  to  Staunton, 
pastor  of  Mt.  Horeb  and  Bethel  Churches  in  Kentucky. 
Following  two  learned,  eloquent  and  much  beloved  pastors, 
he  naturally  had  a  difficult  task  to  perform  to  please  his 
new  congregation  ;  but  the  warmth  of  the  welcome  he  re- 
ceived has  grown  into  a  steady  flame  of  devotion  as  the  years 
have  gone  by,  the  relation  of  pastor  and  flock  having  be- 
come a  very  close  and  tender  one.  Dr.  Eraser  holds  to 
the  simple  faith  of  the  old  Scotch  Church,  and  preaches 
it  with  a  sincerity  and  a  fervor  that  have  carried  conviction 
to  many  hearts.  He  is  no  less  loved  and  honored  by  the 
church  at  large  in  Virginia  than  by  his  home  people,  and 
best  of  all,  is  beloved  by  all  the  people  of  this  community, 
regardless  of  creed  and  station. 

Since  Dr.  Eraser  has  been  pastor  of  the  Eirst  Church, 
the  membership  of  the  church  has  increased,  and  it  has 
become  more  and  more  a  Missionary  Church.  Missionary 
societies  have  multiplied,  and  the  church  has  more  con- 
tributors to  all  causes  than  ever  before.  The  offerings 
for  Home  and  Eoreign  Missions  now  exceed  the  amount 
contributed  by  the  church  in  the  lifetime  of  Miss 
Mary  Julia  Baldwin  whose  contributions  to  these  causes 
made  up  forty  to  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  whole  amount  con- 
tributed by  the  church.  There  are  single  contributors 
who  are  quite  liberal,  but  no  one  contributor  has  taken 
Miss  Baldwin's  place,  her  mantle  and  blessing  having  fal- 


[67] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

len  on  numbers  of  small  contributors.  Dr.  Eraser's  earn- 
est appeals  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  all  parts  of  the  world 
have  not  fallen  on  deaf  ears. 

SOCIETY  FOR  WOMAN'S  WORK. 

When  Dr.  McFarland  organized  the  Society  for 
Woman's  Work  one  of  its  Committees  was  the  Missions 
Committee.  Before  this  the  women  of  the  church  gave  at 
the  church  collections  but  there  was  no  systematic  and 
distinctive  mission  work  done  by  them. 

After  several  years  it  was  found  that  one  committee 
could  not  attend  to  all  that  was  desired  for  Home  and 
Foreign  Missions  and  two  committees  were  established  to 
work  for  these  objects  respectively.  They  continued  as 
committees  until  the  formation  in  1905  of  the  "Women's 
Missionary  Union  of  Lexington  Presbytery,"  in  order  to 
join  the  union  the  Mission  Committees  separated  from  the 
society  for  Woman's  Work  and  organized  as  societies. 

The  Home  Missions  Committee  for  years  under  the 
efficient  leadership  of  Mrs.  Davis  Kayser  was  an  important 
factor  in  the  work  at  Olivet,  and  by  sending  boxes  and 
other  contributions,  aid  was  given  to  weak  churches  in  the 
Home  Mission  field.  This  was  continued  after  the  death 
of  Mrs.  Kayser. 

On  the  appointment  of  Mrs.  Peale  as  chairman,  she 
made  a  house  to  house  canvass  of  the  congregation  and 
greatly  increased  the  membership  and  interest  in  this 
Society. 

Miss  Mattoon  succeeded  as  leader  and  with  her  assis- 
tants the  work  is  carried  on  with  enthusiasm— The  Society 
gives  statedly  to  Synod's  Home  Missions,  and  to  that  of 
Lexington  Presbytery  and  to  Olivet. 

Miss  Nellie  Van  Lear,  before  going  as  a  missionary  of 
the  China  Inland  Mission,  organized  a  Young  Ladies' 
Foreign   Missionary  Society.     These  ladies  uniting  with 

[68] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH.   STAUNTON,  VA. 

the  members  of  the  Foreign  Mission's  Committee  now 
form  the  Woman's  Foreign  Mission  Society. 

The  object  of  this  society  is  to  study  systematically 
the  subject  of  missions  and  to  contribute  regularly  to  the 
cause.— It  gives  to  the  support  of  "Our  Foreign  Mission- 
ary" and  also  to  other  needs  as  they  are  presented. 

Mrs.  Dubose,  one  of  our  missionaries  to  China,  spent 
a  winter  in  Staunton  and  formed  a  society  among  the 
little  girls.  This  has  grown  into  the  Young  Ladies'  Mis- 
sionary Society.  They  aid  in  the  support  of  '  'Our  Foreign 
Missionary,"  give  to  other  causes  in  both  the  home  and 
foreign  field  and  make  a  regular  study  of  missions. 

A  Children's  Missionary  Society  has  been  organized  to 
interest  the  little  ones  in  missions. 

In  an  enumeration  of  the  mission  work  of  the  societies 
of  the  church,  we  should  not  omit  that  done  by  "The 
Covenanters"  who  though  not  called  a  Mission  Society  con- 
tribute liberally  to  both  Home  and  Foreign  Missions. 

Almost  all  the  societies  donate  smaller  or  larger  sums 
to  Home  Missions. 

The  Ladies'  Aid  has  for  years  been  an  important  con- 
tributor to  Olivet  and  has  aided  by  boxes  as  they  heard  of 
special  cases  of  need,  and  there  is  also  a  Junior  Aid  Society 
engaged  in  similar  work. 

The  Woman's  Work  also  besides  its  work  for  our  own 
church,  contributes  to  Olivet,  and  when  possible  to  special 
appeals. 

The  following  paper  copied  from  the  Central  Presby- 
terian of  June  14,  1905,  was  read  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Women's  Missionary  Union  of  Lexington  Presbytery  by 
Mrs.  Joseph  A.  Waddell : 

WHAT  THE  WOMEN  OF  LEXINGTON  PRESBYTERY  CAN    DO 
FOR  MISSIONS 

In  T/te  Missionary  was  found  at  one  time  the  diagram  of  a  clock 
with  the  hands  pointing  to  the  hour  of  noon.  This  indicated  that  in 
the    mission    rooms  of     the   various   societies  at  that    hour  daily, 

[69] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


prayer  is  made  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel  and  for  God's  blessing 
upon  those  laboring  to  carry  the  glad  tidings  to  all  people.  It  seems 
appropriate  that  as  the  sun  travels  from  land  to  land  flooding  the 
earth  with  his  noontide  glory,  at  that  hour,  in  every  Christian  nation, 
earnest  prayers  are  ascending  that  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  will 
illumine  all  the  dark  places  of  the  earth,  until  moral  night  shall  be 
no  more. 

I  speak  to  busy  women  who  may  not  be  able  to  use  that  emblem- 
atic hour  ;  but  the  lesson  of  a  set  season  for  daily  prayer  remains. 
Should  every  Christian  woman  in  Lexington  Presbytery  set  aside  a 
few  moments  daily  for  earnest,  definite  prayer  for  the  coming  of  the 
kingdom,  can  we  doubt  the  Pentecostal  blessing  that  would  follow  ? 

The  gifts  of  women  are  prominent  in  the  gospel  records.  It  was  a 
widow  who  was  commended  by  the  Master.  She  cast  two  mites  into 
the  treasury.  Women  ministered  to  him  of  their  substance.  A 
woman  anointed  his  feet  with  costly  ointment,  and  bathed  them  with 
her  tears.  Another  broke  the  alabaster  box  of  precious  ointment  upon 
his  person,  filling  the  house  with  its  odor  and  the  world  ever  since  with 
the  perfume  of  her  love  and  gratitude,  for  wherever  "this  gospel  is 
preached  shall  this  be  told  for  a  memorial  of  her." 

Is  it  not  for  our  instruction  that  the  extremes  are  recorded — the 
gift  of  poverty  and  that  of  the  alabaster  vase  deemed  an  offering 
worthy  of  a  king's  acceptance  ?  The  Lord  looked  at  the  love,  and 
where  that  is  found  the  offering  will  be  of  good  measure. 

Whatever  be  the  method  of  bringing  our  gifts — whether  a  penny 
a  day,  a  thank  offering  for  each  constantly  recurring  mercy,  or  a 
proportion  of  what  God  has  given  let  it  be  a  systematic  and  commen- 
surate offering  to  the  Lord. 

Lexington  Presbytery  has  given  to  the  missionary  work  many  sons 
and  daughters.  In  every  country  where  our  church  has  estabhshed 
missions,  there  have  been  or  are  missionaries  from  the  Presbytery.  If 
in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  the  Holy  Spirit  whispers  to  some  woman 
in  our  midst,  "Carry  the  good  news  to  those  who  have  not  heard  the 
glad  tidings  in  our  own  land,  or  in  foreign  countries,"  let  her  not  be 
disobedient  to  the  heavenly  call.  We  cannot  all  go,  but  thank  God 
we  can  serve  the  cause  of  missions  in  our  churches. 

The  call  is  just  as  much  that  of  the  Holy  Spirit  when  he  says  stay 
and  work,  as  when  he  says  go  and  work.  In  each  case  it  is  the  voice 
of  the  Master  who  commands,  and  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit  who  empowers; 
in  each  case  the  responsibility  and  privilege  is  the  same  when  the 
obedient  soul  says  here  am  I,  use  me  ;  the  sin  and  disgrace  the  same 
in  resisting  the  command. 

How  are  you  to  know  when  you  are  called  to  special  service  in  the 

[70] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


home  work.  Sometimes  others  see  that  you  are  the  one  for  a  particu- 
lar service.  If  the  pastor  and  judicious  friends  urge  it,  be  very 
sure  that  God  has  not  called  you  before  you  decline  to  take  up  the  labor. 
Sometimes  you  see  clearly  that  something  ought  to  be  done  in  the 
church;  bourne  in  upon  me,  we  say,  very  likely  then  it  ought  to  be 
bourne  in  upon  you  that  ijon  are  the  person  to  work  for  the  advance- 
ment of  that  cause. 

Do  you  say,  "I  am  not  fit?"  Paul  said,  "Who  is  sufficient  ?"  and 
if  he  was  not  sufficient  for  his  work,  be  sure  you  will  not  be  for  yours. 
Paul's  history  teaches  where  only  strength  for  service  can  be  found. 
If  one  gladly  does  what  his  hands  find  to  do,  the  way  opens  for  doing 
more.     "The  reward  of  service  is  more  service." 

These  three  things,  then,  can  the  women  of  Lexington  Presby- 
tery do  for  missions  ;  Pray  regularly  and  earnestly  ;  give  system- 
atically and  proportionately,  and  above  all,  surrender  themselves  to 
the  Lord  for  service  when  and  where  He  may  direct. 

When  asked  to  take  this  subject  for  a  paper,  it  was  urged  that 
some  practical  suggestions  on  ways  of  working,  founded  on  experi- 
ence, would  be  helpful.  Let  me  say  to  those  who  have  recently  be- 
come leaders,  to  successfully  conduct  a  society  means  worlc.  There 
must  be  constant  vigilance  in  this,  as  in  every  other  occupation,  if 
good  results  are  to  be  attained.  With  the  mind  constantly  on  the 
thought  of  missions,  one  comes  across  a  surprising  number  of  inter- 
esting items  in  the  secular  papers  and  magazines.  The  ubiquitous 
shoe  box  comes  in  handily,  labelled  with  the  country  or  topic  ;  let  the 
appropriate  clipping  and  tract  be  put  into  it.  A  moment's  work,  and 
the  matter  can  be  brought  out  whenever  needed  without  a  search, 
which  uses  up  time  and  strength. 

If  possible,  let  evei-y  member  of  the  society  subscribe  to  The  Mis- 
sionary, and  it  can  be  made  the  basis  of  much  study.  I  would  suggest 
that  either  the  president  subscribe  for  the  Missionary  Reciew  of  the 
World,  or  the  Society  for  her.  For  seventeen  years  that  periodical 
has  never  failed  to  furnish  the  very  information  needed  in  a  condensed 
and  striking  form.  These  two  magazines  should  be  filed,  and  if  the 
files  belong  to  the  society,  in  case  of  a  new  president,  the  files  should 
be  sent  to  her  as  a  part  of  her  necessary  outfit.  As  well  expect  a 
carpenter  to  work  without  tools,  as  a  leader  without  materials  for  in- 
creasing her  own  knowledge  and  diffusing  it.  Good  missionary  books 
and  other  good  periodicals  are  of  great  value,  but  for  making  interest- 
ing programmes  I  know  of  nothing  that  exceeds  a  right  use  of  The 
Missionary,  TheEecieic,  clippings,  and  well  selected  tracts  and  booklets. 
Some  suggestions  about  the  meetings  of  the  societies  may  not  be 
amiss.     These  should  always  begin  with  devotional  exercises.     We  all 


[71] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


kaow  the  natural  shrinkage  from  leading  in  prayer — prayer  the  most 
sacred  exercise  which  the  soul  can  perform.  To  one  unaccustomed  to 
praying  in  public,  I  would  suggest  writing  out  the  prayer  beforehand, 
to  give  definiteness  to  the  petitions.  Pray  it  over  to  the  Lord  as  well 
as  pray  for  his  grace  for  the  time  of  trial.  If  possible,  get  other 
ladies  to  join,  at  first  in  sentence  prayer,  with  only  one  definite  peti- 
tion. Some  of  the  happiest  meetings,  our  society  has  had,  have  been 
when  several,  one  after  another,  prayed  in  this  way.  The  Bible  gives 
beautiful  short  prayers,  which  may  be  committed  to  memory  and  re- 
peated till  one  ceases  to  dread  the  sound  of  her  own  voice. 

For  years  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  First 
Church,  Staunton,  has  used  the  Missionary  Lesson  Leaf.  It  gives  a 
responsive  reading  of  well  selected  verses  of  Scripture,  two  hymns, 
and  closes  with  a  short  prayer  to  be  said  in  unison.  The  missionary 
information  is  valuable,  and  can  often  be  so  used  as  to  assist  with  the 
subject  of  that  meeting.  The  price,  for  thirteen  copies  to  one  address 
for  every  month  for  a  year,  is  one  dollar.  I  have  bought  a  number  of 
leaflets,  which  contain  the  address  and  terms,  and  will  serve  as  sample 
copies  for  any  one  who  may  wish  to  have  one. 

Taking  one  of  the  great  mission  fields  for  study  at  a  m.eeting  is  a 
natural  thought,  and  will  be  found  very  profitable.  When  possible,  it 
is  well  to  give  two  meetings  to  one  country,  as  the  missions  have  so 
increased  that  even  a  bird's  eye  view  cannot  be  gained  at  one  time. 

The  study  of  one  number  of  The  Missionary  has  been  used  with 
benefit.  As  the  issue  of  the  current  month  would  not  arrive  in  time, 
it  is  well  to  take  The  Missionary  of  a  month  or  two  previous,  and 
formulate  and  distribute  the  questions  on  it.  In  this  way  the  ground 
is  more  thoroughly  covered  than  in  reading  T'he  Missionary  as  it  comes 
out. 

For  several  years,  as  we  know,  text-books  have  been  prepared  for 
study  classes.  1902 —  Via  Christi,  an  introduction  to  the  study  of  mis- 
sions. 1903 — Lux  Christi,  an  outline  study  of  India.  \^Oi—lle.v  Christus, 
of  China.  1905— Dux  Christus,  of  Japan.  Also  Sunrise  in  tJie  Sunrise 
Kingdom.  The  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  First  Church, 
Staunton,  has  been  studying  the  last  named  volume  with  a  marked  in- 
crease of  interest^;  indeed  the  enthusiasm  excited  has  been  great, 
owing,  no  doubt  in  part  to  the  war  in  the  East,  which  is  engaging  the 
attention  of  the  world.  But,  with  due  allowance  for  this,  the  more 
accurate  and  full  knowledge  of  any  heathen  people,  of  their  needs,  of 
the  efforts  being  made  by  consecrated,  heroic  men  and  women  for  their 
salvation,  must  warm  the  hearts  and  enthuse  the  minds  of  intelligent 
Christian  women.  Without  knowledge  it  is  impossible  to  interest, 
without  more  knowledge,  to  maintain  that  interest.     The  present  war 

[72] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


is  a  striking  illustration  of  this.  Attention  having  been  turned  to  the 
nations  in  deadly  conflict,  everything  that  concerns  them  is  read  and 
discussed  with  avidity.  Maps  are  eagerly  scanned  for  places  until 
lately  unheard  of,  and  men  with  outlandish  names  have  become  house- 
hold words. 

A  few  years  ago  Dr.  Paton,  of  the  New  Hebrides,  lectured  in 
Staunton  to  a  crowded  audience.  We  had  his  life  in  our  missionary 
library.  A  few  faithful  sisters  had  read  it,  and  fewer  brothers.  The 
demand  for  it  now  became  so  great  by  those  within  and  without  the 
society,  that  we  had  to  lend  it  with  the  proviso  that  in  should  be  read 
quickly  and  passed  on  to  a  specified  person. 

This  brings  me  to  the  importance  of  a  missionary  library.  Let 
quality  rather  than  quantity  be  the  aim.  Add  one  or  two  books  a 
year,  and  get  a  librarian  who  has  read  and  can  recommend  them  from 
her  personal  enjoyment  of  them.  I  regard  the  proper  librarian  as  al- 
most as  important  as  good  books.  Busy  people  need  tactful  pressing 
to  undertake  a  book,  and  yet  love  to  hear  of  what  is  being  done  by  our 
modern  Pauls,  and  may  I  add,  Priscillas. 

It  may  at  first  be  difficult  to  get  the  members  to  take  a  part  in  the 
study  programme.  At  first  give  only  short  readings  ;  then  ask  that 
the  matter  be  told  instead  of  read.  After  a  while  the  members  to 
condense  longer  articles,  only  reading  some  striking  quotations.  On 
some  occasions  the  salient  points  of  a  whole  book  have  been  presented 
in  twenty  or  thirty  minutes. 

The  main  object  has  been  the  increase  of  missionary  knowledge 
and  zeal,  but  a  second  result  has  been  an  intellectual  benefit.  Our 
minds  become  incrusted  with  the  daily  cares  in  serving  the  physical 
wants  of  our  families  ;  the  intellectual,  and  above  all,  the  spiritual, 
need  these  helps  to  greater  development. 

Try  to  get  the  members  in  rotation  to  take  charge  of  the  meetings. 
It  lightens  the  burden  of  the  president  gives  variety  in  the  treatment 
and  adds  interest,  as  we  will  enjoy  what  we  have  taken  an  active 
part  in. 

In  closing  let  me  entreat  that  prayer  be  constantly  made  for  the 
race  of  continuance.  "Ye  did  run  well"  for  a  time,  is  written  on  many 
a  promising  society.  Zeal  will  flag,  enthusiasm  wax  cold,  and  then 
the  sense  of  responsiblity  to  Him  who  was  ever  mindful  of  the  work 
the  Father  gave  Him  to  do,  will  enable  us  to  be  faithful  to  the  end. 
Let  "patient  continuance"  be  the  motto  of  all  who  strive  to  advance 
the  kingdom,  knowing  that  "all  the  promises  of  God,  in  him  are  yea, 
and  in  him  amen,  unto  the  glory  of  God  by  us." 

Staunton,   Va.  MRS.  J.  ADDISON  WaddeLL, 


[73J 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


STATISTICAL  REPORT  TO  PRESBYTERY. 

Annual  Report  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Staunton,    Va., 
to  Presbytery,  for  the  year  ending  March  31,  1908. 

Elders 10 

Deacons 12 

Communicants  added  on  Examination 10 

Communicants  added  on  Certificate 16 

Total  of  Communicants     596 

Adult  Baptisms  4 

Infant   Baptisms 7 

Baptised   Non-Communicants 105 

Officers  and  Teachers  in  Sabbath-Schools  and  Bible  Classes 35 

Scholars  in  Sabbath-Schools  and  Bible  Classes        418 

FUNDS  CONTRIBUTED. 

Foreign  Missions $1963  28 

Assembly's  Home  Missions 127  94 

Local  Home  Missions 1197  75 

Colored  Evangelization 94  68 

Ministerial  Relief '. , 165  31 

Education ; 566  82 

Publication  and  S.  S.  Mission 75  54 

Bible  Cause                    .  53  05 

Presbyterial 45  00 

Pastor's   Salary 2400  00 

Congregational 2378  40 

Miscellaneous  505  70 


$9573  47 
A.  M.  Eraser,  D.  D.,  Pastor. 

Joseph  A.  Waddell, 

Clerk  of  Session. 

SESSIONAL  REPORT  OF  WOMAN'S  SOCIETIES 
Society  of  Woman's  Work— 68  Members. 

Contributed  for  Local  Causes $282  00 

"  "    Home  Missions 35  00 

"    Other  Causes 10  00 

— $327  00 

Ladies"  Aid  Society— 38  Members. 
Contributed  for  Miscellaneous  Causes $  93  00 

[74] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society— 106  Members. 
Contributed  for  Home  Missions      $197  00 

Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society— 27  Members. 
Contributed  for  Foreign  Missions $149  00 

SESSIONAL  REPORT  OF  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  SOCIETIES 

Young  Ladies'  Missionary  Society— 34  Members. 

Contributed  for  Current  Expenses $  14  89 

"  "   Foreign  Missions 165  00 

"  "   Home  Missions 25  00 

"    Other  Causes 61  74 

$266  63 

Junior  Aid  Society— 25  Members. 
Contributed   for  Miscellaneous  Causes $  50  00 

Children's  Missionary  Society— 20  Members. 
Contributed  ^for  Foreign  Missions $  20  00 

Covenanters— 15  Members. 

Contributed  for  Current    Expenses $    4  00 

"  "   Foreign    Missions 70  00 

"  "    Home    Missions 35  00 

$109  00 

Young  Woman's  Christian  Ass'n,  M.  B.  S.— 116  Members. 

Contributed  for  Foreign    Missions $    5  50 

"  "   Other    Causes 65  00 

$70  50 

Sunday  School. 

Contributed  through  Treasurer $304  98 

Other  Contributions 21  60 

$326  58 

M.  B.  Seminary  Sunday  School— 205  Members. 
Contributed  for  Foreign   Missions     $250  00 

CHURCH  OFFICERS 

The  Ruling  Elders  in  1897,  named  in  the  order  of  their  election, 
were  Joseph  A.  Waddell,  Davis  A.  Kayser,  George  S.  Walker,  Charles 
Grattan,  Henry  D.  Peck,  N.  Wayt,  James  N.  McFarland,  Henry  A. 
Walker  and  Samuel  F.  Pilson. 

[75] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


The  Deacons  were  James  H.  Blackley,  William  A.  Burke,  Arista 
Hoge,  C.  B.  Somerville,  James  A.  Templeton,  S.  H.  Henkel,  William 
H.  Landes,  Charles  K.  Hoge,  John  M.  Spotts  and  James  A.  Fulton. 

Present  Organization 

Pastor  :— Rev.  A.  M.  Fraser,  D.  D.,  installed  May  21,  1893. 

Elders  :— 1858,  Joseph  A.  Waddell  ;  1875,  Dr.  George  S.  Walker ; 
1880,  H.  D.  Peck  ;  1885,  J.  N.  McFarland ;  1894,  S.  F.  Pilson  ;  1894, 
H.  A.  Walker  ;  1894,  H.  H.  Bolen  ;  1903,  W.  H.  Landes  ;  1903,  Dr. 
J.  B.  Rawlings  ;  1903,  C.  F.  Neel. 

Deacons  :— 1864,  J.  H.  Blackley ;  1880,  Arista  Hoge  ;  1888,  J.  A. 
Templeton  ;  1888,  Dr.  S.  H.  Henkel  ;  1896,  J.  M.  Spotts  ;  1896,  C.  K. 
Hoge  ;  1896,  J.  A.  Fulton  ;  1903,  R.  E.  Timberlake  ;  1903,  H.  J.  Taylor, 
1903,  McH.  Holliday ;  1903,  C.  S.  Hunter ;  1903,  W.  W.  King. 

Sunday  School :— C.  R.  Caldwell,  Superintendent ;  C.  S.  Hunter, 
Secretary  ;  H.  A.  Walker,  Librarian  and  Treasurer. 


[76] 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  A  REVOLUTION  IN  THE  MODE  OF  RAISING 
CHURCH  REVENUES. 

AT  a  meeting  of  the  officers  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Staunton,  held  June  1,  1892,  to  consider 
the  condition  of  its  finances,  which  is  somewhat  dis- 
couraging, owing  to  the  large  arrearages  in  pew  rents ; 
pending  a  proposition  to  enforce  the  pew  rent  system  to  its 
logical  results,  or  else  to  abandon  it  altogether,  and  substi- 
tute some  other  method  of  revenue,  Elder  Jos.  A.  Waddell 
read  a  paper  which  so  forcibly  set  forth  the  objections  to  the 
pew  rent  system,  that  some  of  those  who  sympathize  with 
his  views,  thought  it  best  to  have  the  same  printed  and  dis- 
tributed to  the  congregation  for  their  consideration. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  paper  : 

HOW  SHOULD  CHURCH  REVENUES  BE  RAISED  ? 

A  little  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago,  the  church  was  consti- 
tuted by  law  in  Virginia.  The  people  were  assessed  by  public  officers, 
and  the  money  due  from  them  "for  the  support  of  religion,"  was  col- 
lected by  tax-gatherers,  like  any  other  public  dues.  The  money  thus 
raised  was  applied  for  the  support  of  "the  church,"  and  Dissenters, 
consisting  then  mainly  of  Presbyterians  and  Baptists,  had  to  con- 
tribute as  well  as  others,  and  in  addition  to  provide  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  their  own  institutions,  as  best  they  could.  Amongst  the  re- 
sults of  the  Revolution  of  1776,  the  religious  establishment  was 
abolished. 

But  soon  afterward,  the  scheme  of  a  "general  assessment"  for 
the  support  of  religion  was  proposed  in  the  State  Legislature.  It  was 
earnestly  advocated  by  Patrick  Henry  and  other  distinguished  public 
men,  who  appreciated  the  importance  of  religion  and  desired  to  pro- 
mote its  influence  amongst  the  people.  According  to  this  scheme  all 
tax-payers  were  to  contribute,   willingly   or  unwillingly,  to  a  general 

[77] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH.   STAUNTON,  VA. 


fund,  to  be  apportioned  to  the  various  denominations,  the  liberty- 
granted  to  the  tax-payer  being  that  of  indicating  the  church  or 
society  to  receive  his  quota. 

The  Presbyterian  clergy  and  people  warmly  opposed  the  scheme, 
as  an  infringement  upon  liberty  and  injurious  to  religion.  Memorial 
after  memorial  in  opposition  to  it,  was  adopted  by  Hanover  Presbytery, 
then  the  only  Presbytery  in  the  State,  and  the  Rev.  John  B.  Smith,  of 
Hampden-Sidney,  was  sent  to  Richmond  to  remonstrate  in  person 
before  the  Legislature.  Finally,  a  general  convention  of  Presbyterians 
was  held  at  Bethel  Church,  in  Augusta  County,  which  adopted  an 
earnest  protest  against  the  measure.  Soon  afterward,  the  bill 
securing  complete  religious  liberty  was  passed  by  the  Legislature,  and 
our  people  congratulated  themselves  on  the  establishment  of  just  and 
sound  principles. 

The  policy  of  our  church  was  therefore  long  ago  established,  that 
the  institutions  of  religion  should  be  supported  by  the  voluntary,  free 
will  offerings  of  the  worshipers.  Whatever  plan  for  raising  money  in- 
fringes in  any  degree  upon  this  fundamental  principle,  should  be  care- 
fully avoided.  In  my  opinion,  the  common  practice  of  renting  PEWS 
is  directly  in  conflict  with  it. 

After  the  completion  of  our  present  church  building,  it  was  de- 
termined to  raise  the  necessary  revenues  by  renting  pews.  Accord- 
ingly prices  were  affixed  to  the  various  pews,  from  $15  to  $40  each, 
per  annum,  in  view  of  the  supposed  eligibility  of  the  different  sittings. 
A  number  of  pews  under  the  gallery  and  elsewhere,  in  out-of-the-way 
and  undesirable  locations,  were  set  apart  as  "free,"  for  the  use  of 
casual  attendants  or  members  of  the  congregation  too  poor  to  pay  for 
more  desirable  places.  It  was  understood  that  a  family  or  person  tak- 
ing a  pew  and  afterward  becoming  unable  to  pay  for  it,  should  take  a 
cheaper  pew,  or,  if  necessary,  retire  to  one  of  the  free  pews.  Thus 
the  sittings  in  the  church  were  disposed  of  like  stalls  in  a  market,  or 
boxes  in  a  theatre,  and  it  was  contemplated  to  "run  the  church"  on 
"strictly  business  principles." 

How  has  this  system  worked  ?  I  hazard  nothing  in  saying  that 
as  a  financial  scheme  it  has  proved  an  utter  failure,  while  in  other 
respects  it  has  caused  much  discomfort  to  many  of  our  people  and  no 
little  injury  to  the  best  interests  of  the  congregation.  In  New  York 
and  other  large  cities  the  system  may  be  practicable  so  far  as  raising 
money  is  concerned.  A  popular  preacher,  or  attractive  music,  will 
draw  a  crowd  of  wealthy  worshipers  ;  it  is  fashionable  to  go  to  church 
and  have  some  sort  of  religion  ;  and  many  people  will  attend  on  Sun- 
day to  display  their  finery  and  keep  in  good  society.  But  the  poor  and 
people  in  moderate  circumstances  are  practically  excluded.      In  a 

[78] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


town  and  community  such  as  ours,  necessary  church  revenues  cannot 
be  raised  by  such  means — certainly  not  without  constant  irritations 
and  injury  to  the  cause  intended  to  be  promoted. 

The  system  is  based,  it  seems  to  me,  on  wholly  erroneous  prin- 
ciples. It  discourages  the  scriptural  doctrine  that  each  individual 
ought  to  contribute  in  proportion  to  his  ability.  A  comparatively  rich 
man  occupies  a  $20,  $30,  or  $40  pew,  and  because  he  pays  the  sum  fix- 
ed by  the  officers  of  the  church  as  his  quota,  he  is  apt  to  conclude  that 
he  has  fully  discharged  his  duty  in  the  premises.  Next  to  him  in 
church  may  be  a  poor  family,  struggling  for  daily  bread  and  decent  ap- 
parel, who  must  pay  the  same  sum  as  the  richer  brother,  or  run  the  risk 
of  being  ejected  from  their  place.  This  threat  is  involved  in  the  sys- 
tem, and  is  held  over  the  head  of  every  pew-holder.  The  Board  of 
Deacons  have  not  generally  enforced  the  system.  That  they  have  not 
is  proved  by  the  fact  that  probably  three-fourths  of  the  present  pew- 
holders  are  not  now  paying  the  full  prices  of  their  pews  as  originally 
assessed.  Yet  with  every  disposition  to  deal  kindly,  the  officers,  in 
accordance  with  their  duty  as  long  as  the  system  remains  in  force, 
have  several  times  deprived  families  of  their  places  and  practically  ex- 
cluded them  from  the  building.  It  is  not  their  fault,  but  the  blame  is 
to  be  attributed  to  the  plan  adopted,  and  which  they  are  required  to 
enforce.  But  carry  out  the  system,  as  it  ought  to  be  carried  out  as  long 
as  it  is  continued,  and  what  will  it  result  in?  Three-fourths  of  the  wor- 
shipers must  give  up  their  pews  and  take  refuge  in  the  free  pews. 
Who  are  to  occupy  the  vacated  seats  ?  As  far  as  now  appears  they 
must  remain  vacant,  while  the  recent  occupants,  unable  to  find  accom- 
modation in  the  seats  appropriated  to  them,  must  stay  outside  al- 
together. 

Further  objections  to  the  plan  are,  that  it  fosters  the  idea  of  an 
aristocracy  of  wealth  in  the  house  of  God — that  the  rich  are  to  be  better 
accommodated  than  the  poor,  or  to  the  exclusion  of  the  poor ;  that 
it  causes  much  discomfort  to  those  who  from  a  reverse  of  fortune,  or 
otherwise,  cannot  pay  the  stipulated  sum  ;  that  it  tends  to  exclude 
people  from  the  church  ;  and  generally  that  it  is  unscriptual  and  in- 
jurious to  the  cause  for  which  the  building  was  erected. 

The  Apostle  James  says  we  must  not  have  the  faith  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  "with  respect  of  persons,"  nor  say  to  the  rich  man,  "Sit 
thou  here  in  a  good  place,"  and  say  to  the  poor,  "Stand  thou  there,  or 
sit  here  under  my  footstool." 

Let  us  then  try  some  other  plan.  Let  us  take  down  the  labels 
which  appear  on  many  pews — on  one  "For  Rent"  on  another  "Free." 
The  latter  proclaims  :  "Sit  here  if  you  choose,  but  do  not  forget  that 
you  are  a  pauper. ' '     Take  down  those  labels,  and  declare  that  every 

{79] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


seat  not  already  appropriated  is  free  to  who  ever  will  take  it.  Make  no 
distinction  between  the  rich  and  poor.  Let  the  poorest  member  in  the 
congregation  have  the  best  seat  in  the  house,  if  there  be  such  a  seat. 
Cause  all  who  come  to  feel  AT  home.  It  is  their  Father's  house,  and 
their  home.  Thus  the  membership  will  be  increased,  and  there  will 
be  no  lack  of  necessary  funds  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  con- 
gregation. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  objection  is  not  to  a  proper  pew  system, 
but  to  the  renting  of  pews.  On  many  accounts  it  is  desirable  that 
every  family,  and  if  possible,  every  individual,  shall  have  a  fixed 
and  recognized  place  in  the  house.  It  is  not  seemly  or  agreeable  for 
the  regular  worshipers  to  enter  pell-mell  and  scramble  for  seats — a 
father  here,  a  mother  there,  and  the  children  scattered  about.  There- 
fore, let  one  or  more  pews  be  assigned  to  each  family,  and  bear  their 
name.  At  the  same  time  the  body  of  the  congregation,  through  its 
officers,  must  retain  a  proper  control  of  the  sittings.  Every  individual 
must  understand  that  he  is  indebted  to  the  congregation  for  his  ap- 
pointed place,  and  that  he  is  not  at  liberty  to  monopolize  more  space 
than  is  necessary  for  his  comfortable  accommodation.  Of  course  it  is 
impossible  to  furnish  a  whole  pew  to  each  person  ;  and  where  several 
persons  are  associated,  by  their  own  agreement  or  by  the  church 
officers,  there  must  be  amongst  them  a  spirit  of  mutual  courtesy  and 
regard.  The  one  who  enters  first  should  not  insist  upon  sitting  at  the 
entrance,  and  require  others  entitled  to  the  same  accommodation  to 
work  their  way  in  over  knees  and  feet  as  best  they  can.  This  selfish, 
unaccommodating  spirit  is  fostered  by  the  system  of  renting  pews. 
The  feeling  is  :  "This  is  my  pew,  I  pay  for  it.  You  have  no  right 
here."  The  whole  church,  however,  and  every  seat  in  it,  belongs  to 
the  congregation ,  and  all  worshipers  are  entitled  to  accommodation 
without  distinction. 

According  to  the  plan  proposed,  no  family  will  be  disturbed  in  the 
present  arrangement,  but  each  will  retain  its  place  as  far  as  agree- 
able and  suitable.  When  strangers  apply  for  accommondation,  they 
will  not  be  told,  as  now,  "Here  is  a  pew  you  may  have  for  $40,  there 
is  one  for  $30,"  etc.,  but,  "Here  are  the  vacant  pews,  or  seats,  take 
whichever  you  prefer." 

Thus  having  relieved  the  church  from  the  odium  of  affording  its 
accommodations  to  those  only  who  can  pay  for  them  —  throwing  the 
doors  wide  open,  inviting  all  to  come  and  welcome,  whether  they  pay 
much,  or  little,  or  nothing  at  all  —  the  poorest  having  all  the  rights 
which  money  can  obtain  —  how  shall  the  amount  necessary  to  defray 
expenses  be  raised  ?  Money  is  indispensable.  There  is  no  denying 
that,  and  there  is  no  incongruity  in  keeping  the  fact  before  the  people. 

[80] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


In  every  civilized  community  money  is  necessary  for  subsistence, 
and  without  it  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  cannot  be  maintained  and 
propagated.  In  the  hands  of  one  who  loves  God  and  his  fellowmen, 
it  is  a  blessed  thing.  It  may  be  sanctified  and  become  a  holy  thing. 
Let  us  not  fall  into  the  mistake  of  contemning  money  as  something 
unclean  and  not  to  be  mentioned  in  connection  with  religion.  It  is 
not  money  itself,  but  the  undue,  sordid  love  of  pelf,  which  the  Bible 
denounces.  It  not  only  represents  dwellings  and  food  and  clothing, 
but  also  churches.  Bibles,  and  to  some  extent  even  the  proclamation 
of  the  gospel.  How  shall  preachers  abide  in  their  calling,  or  go  on 
their  errand,  without  the  means  of  subsistence  ?  And  how  shall 
meeting-houses  be  built,  and  warmed,  and  lighted  at  night,  unless 
funds  are  provided  for  the  purpose  ? 

Money  is  indispensable.  How  shall  it  be  obtained  ?  Not  by  a 
system  of  governmental  taxation— our  ancestors  delivered  us  from 
that  burden  a  hundred  years  ago.  Nor  by  an  arbitrary  and  imprac- 
ticable assessment  by  church  officers,  in  consideration  of  a  certain 
allotted  space  in  the  house  of  worship.  But  rather  by  each  individual 
assessing  himself.  It  is  not  for  me  to  say  what  my  neighbor  shall 
contribute.  I  am  bound  to  give,  or  pay,  in  the  fear  of  God  and  ac- 
cording to  my  ability.  The  Bible  lays  down  the  rule— "Each  one  ac 
cording  to  his  ability." 

It  is  objected  to  this  plan  that  some  persons  who  are  able,  will 
contribute  nothing,  and  that  the  fear  of  losing  their  pews  must  be 
kept  before  them  in  order  to  obtain  their  contributions.  I  imagine 
there  are  very  few  people  of  this  kind.  No  one  of  the  least  self-re- 
spect, who  is  able  to  maintain  his  family,  would  allow  his  neighbors  to 
furnish  subsistence  to  his  wife  and  children  or  even  to  himself  ;  and 
it  is  almost  incredible  that  any  one  able  to  help  would  consent  to  receive 
all  the  accommodations  afforded  by  the  church  without  contributing 
to  the  fund.  But  if  their  be  such  a  man,  the  remedy  is  not  by  a 
threat  to  turn  him  out  of  his  pew.  That  man  specially  needs  the  gos- 
pel. Keep  him  in  his  place,  therefore,  hoping  that  by  the  grace  of 
God  he  may  yet  be  brought  to  appreciate  his  duty  and  privilege 
in  this  respect.  In  the  meanwhile,  others  ought  to  make  up  the 
deficiency  with  the  same  spirit  which  induces  them  to  send  the  gospel 
to  idolaters  and  other  benighted  people. 

I  have  heard  of  a  society  of  simple-minded  Christians  in  one  of  the 
West  India  Islands,  who,  it  seems  to  me,  hit  upon  the  true  plan  for 
raising  the  expenses  of  true  religious  services.  They  adopted  three 
rules,  as  follows :  1.  We  will  give  cheerfully;  2.  We  will  give 
promptly;  3.  We  will  give  as  the  Lord  has  blessed  us.  It  is  related 
that  on  one  occasion,    when  the  officers  of  the   church  had  met  to 


[81] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH.   STAUNTON,  VA. 


receive  the  offerings  of  the  people,  a  comparatively  rich  member 
of  the  flock  put  down  a  very  small  sum  as  his  contribution.  The 
chairman  said  :  "No,  brother  we  can't  take  that,"  "Why  not?" 
asked  the  other.  "Because,"  was  the  reply,  "you  have  not  com- 
plied with  the  3d  rule."  The  member  took  up  his  money  and  trudged 
off.  Presently  he  returned  and  putting  down  a  larger  sum  said  hufRsh- 
ly  :  "  Take  that. "  "  No, "  said  the  other,  "  we  cannot  take  it.  You 
have  not  complied  with  the  1st  rule."  The  contributor  retired  again 
with  his  money,  but  finally  returned,  and  with  a  changed  manner 
begged  that  as  a  favor  to  him  it  might  be  received.  "Yes  with 
pleasure,"  said  the  chairman,  "now  you  have  complied  with  all  the 
rules."  This  story  illustrates  the  true  principle  of  Christian  benefi- 
cence, and  the  manner  in  which  the  people  may  be  educated  with  ref- 
erence to  it.  The  Lord  does  not  need  the  gifts  of  any  of  His 
creatures.  He,  however,  condescends  to  accept  the  free-will  offerings 
of  His  people.  He  does  not  want  enforced  presents,  and  the  church 
should  not  receive  them.  But  the  church  should  enlighten  the  people 
and  exhort  and  rebuke  in  respect  to  the  duty  and  privilege. 

It  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  no  plan  can  be  devised  which 
will  not  involve  some  trouble  to  the  officers  of  the  church.  One  or 
more  persons  must  be  authorized  to  collect,  or  receive,  the  contribu- 
tions, and  disburse  them  ;  and  owing  to  the  infirmity  of  human  nature, 
it  cannot  be  expected  that  every  individual  will  always  pay  in  his 
quota  promptly  at  the  appointed  time.  Some  degree  of  solicitation, 
or  reminder,  must  therefore  be  practiced. 

Upon  the  whole,  the  plan  which  seems  to  me  most  in  accordance 
with  scripture  and  the  theory  of  our  institutions  ;  best  calculated  to 
prevent  irritations  and  discomfort  in  the  congregation  ;  and  most 
likely  to  result  in  raising  the  necessary  amount  of  money,  is  the  fol- 
lowing :  Let  the  officers  of  the  church  at  the  beginning  of  every  year 
invite  each  adult  member  of  the  congregation  to  say  what  sum  he  or 
she  will  contribute,  in  monthly  or  quarterly  instalments,  FOR  THAT 
YEAR.  If  the  aggregate  subscribed  shall  be  sufficient  for  the  purpose 
the  desired  object  will  be  accomplished.  A  subscription  list  for  one 
year  may  be  relied  upon  as  likely  to  be  solvent  and  promptly  paid  in. 
If  the  aggregate  subscriptions  shall  prove  insufficient,  the  fact  should 
be  reported  to  the  congregation,  and  an  opportunity  afforded  to  sub- 
scribers to  increase  their  respective  donations.  Frequent  reports  of 
the  financial  condition  of  the  church  should  be  made,  not  by  announce- 
ments from  the  pulpit,  but  by  means  of  printed  statements  placed  in 
the  pews.  Every  individual  attending  the  church  should  be  kept  in- 
formed in  regard  to  these  affairs.    All  are  equally  interested,  and 


[82] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


every  proper  means  should  be  used  to  excite  the   interest  and   call 
forth  the  liberality  of  the  members. 

There  will,  of  course,  be  some  members  of  the  congregation  un- 
able to  contribute  ;  or  at  least  to  promise  any  sum  they  may  think 
worth  subscribing.  Christ  said  :  "The  poor  ye  have  always  with 
you,"  and  as  long  as  such  are  in  the  community,  God  grant  that  a 
reasonable  proportion  of  them  may  be  in  our  church,  and  cherished 
and  accommodated  as  well  as  the  richest.  In  fixing  the  amounts  of 
their  contributions,  the  comparatively  wealthy  must  have  reference 
to  the  fact  that  some  of  the  brethren  are  able  to  do  very  little.  We 
will  not  say  that  any  are  able  to  do  nothing.  And  the  smallest  gifts 
may  be  more  in  the  estimation  of  God  than  the  largest.  The  widow 
who  cast  two  mites  into  the  treasury  of  the  temple,  Christ  himself 
said,  "cast  in  more  than  they  all." 

In  our  common  conversation  we  speak  of  giving  to  the  church,  or 
to  religious  objects,  and  many  people  pay  every  claim  upon  them  in 
preference  to  church  dues.  The  latter  are,  however,  debts  of  the 
first  dignity,  higher  than  "debts  of  honor,"  and  are  entitled  to  be 
first  discharged. 

A  word  in  conclusion  in  regard  to  the  collection  of  church  reve- 
nues. Church  officers  serve  without  pay,  and  certainly  not  for  their 
own  enjoyment.  They  have  become  our  servants  for  Christ's 
sake.  When  they  present  to  us  the  collection  baskets  during  public 
worship,  or  elsewhere  call  upon  us  for  money,  it  is  to  save  us  trouble, 
or  to  remind  us  of  our  duty.  They  deserve  respect  and  sympathy,  as 
friends  and  faithful  servants,  not  the  rebuffs  which  debtors  some- 
times give  to  exacting  and  harsh  creditors. 

"Every  man  according  as  he  purposeth  in  his  heart,  so  let  him 
give  ;  not  grudgingly,  or  of  necessity,  for  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver." 

"If  there  be  first  a  willing  mind,  it  is  accepted  according  to  that 
a  man  hath,  and  not  according  to  that  he  hath  not." 

If  the  present  system  of  pew-renting  is  a  proper  one,  it  ought  to 
be  enforced.  It  is  due  to  good  faith  and  fair  dealing  that  there  shall 
be  no  discriminations — one  delinquent  allowed  to  remain,  and  another, 
directly  or  indirectly,  ordered  to  leave. 

Whenever  a  pew-holder  fails  to  pay  the  full  price,  turn  him  out. 
Punish  the  wife  and  children  for  the  fault,  or  it  may  be  the  misfor- 
tune, of  the  head  of  the  family.  Owners  of  warehouses  and  other 
buildings  for  rent,  act  so.  The  object  of  all  renting  is  to  raise  money. 
True  this  is  not  the  professed  primary  object  of  the  church,  but 
when  the  church  turns  from  its  proper  purpose  and  undertakes  to 
play  the  landlord,  it  must  adhere  to  sound  business  principles.  There- 
fore, let  the  system  be  faithfully  carried  out  or  abolished. 

Staunton,  Va.,  June  1,  1S92. 

[83] 


CHAPTER  XI 

TWO  SERMONS  BY  REV.  A.  M.  ERASER,  D.  D. ,  PASTOR  OF  THE 

FIRST   PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  OF  STAUNTON,   VA. 

SUBJECT  :  THE  WORSHIP  OF  GOD  WITH  OUR 

SUBSTANCE;    DELIVERED    IN 

FEBRUARY,  1904. 


FIRST  SERMON 

Text:— Prov.  111:9,  "Honor  the  Lord  With  Thy 
Substance." 

THE  subject  presented  to  us  by  this  text  is  that  of 
worshiping  or  "honoring"  the  Lord  with  our  "sub- 
stance" or  property.  In  advance  of  everything  else 
I  have  to  say  on  the  subject,  I  wish  to  make  this  state- 
ment :  I  shall  not  lay  down  a  single  main  proposition  but 
such  as  I  feel  sure  of  securing  your  unqualified  concurrence 
in,  and  if  you  act  in  accordance  with  the  convictions  thus 
reached,  such  a  thing  as  a  financial  problem  will  disappear 
from  our  church  operations,  and  we  will  be  doing  more  in 
proportion  to  our  means  than  any  church  of  which  I  have 
any  knowledge. 

Now  if  I  have  succeeded,  during  my  residence  in  your 
midst,  in  winning,  to  any  extent,  ycfur  confidence  in  my 
judgment,  this  statement  at  the  outset  of  such  a  discussion 
ought  to  secure  the  closest  and  most  serious  attention  to  all 
I  have  to  say.  Let  me  repeat  and  emphasize  the  state- 
ment :  I  shall  not  lay  down  a  single  leading  proposition 
but  such  as  I  feel  confident  of  securing  your  unqualified 
assent  to.  I  may  be  mistaken,  but  I  doubt  if  a  lawyer 
ever  stood  before  a  jury  more  confident  of  his  case  than  I 

[84] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

am  of  carrying  my  case  in  the  minds  of  this  jury  of  six 
hundred  persons.  And  that  is  a  great  deal  to  say  when 
money  is  the  subject  to  be  discussed.  And,  moreover,  if  all 
will  act  in  accordance  with  the  views  thus  formed,  financial 
difficulties  will  disappear  from  our  church  and  we  will  be 
doing  more  in  proportion  to  our  ability  than  any  church  of 
my  acquaintance.  With  this  preface  I  proceed  to  an- 
nounce my  first  proposition. 

I.  In  order  that  the  Church  may  do  the  work  which 
the  Lord  has  given  it  to  do,  IT  must  have  money. 

It  is  unscriptural  and  impossible  for  the  church  to  do 
the  work  the  Master  has  given  it  to  do,  without  the  use  of 
money.  It  might  seem  unnecessary  to  insist  upon  a  pro- 
position so  nearly  self-evident  as  this  one  is,  but  there  are 
some  who  dispute  it,  and  it' is  possible  that  the  leaven 
of  this  error  is  working  to  a  greater  extent  than  we  sus- 
pect. They  say  that  the  gospel  is  free  and  then  deceive 
themselves  with  the  sophistry  that  because  the  gospel  is 
free,  no  money  should  be  employed  in  its  operations.  Sal- 
vation is  offered  to  all  who  will  accept  it,  "without  money 
and  without  price,"  and  if  any  man  thinks  when  he  pays 
money  into  the  Lord's  treasury  that  he  is  paying  for  his 
redemption,  he  has  never  begun  to  know  the  value  of  that 
redemption,  and  greatly  over-rates  the  value  of  money. 
When  Simon,  the  sorcerer,  offered  to  give  the  apostles 
money  for  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Peter  rebuked  him 
indignantly  saying,  "Thy  money  perish  with  thee,  because 
thou  hast  thought  that  the  gift  of  God  may  be  purchased 
with  money."  Possibly  it  was  to  this  occasion  that 
Peter's  mind  reverted  when  he  afterwards  wrote  in  his 
first  epistle,  "Ye  were  not  redeemed  with  corruptible 
things  as  silver  and  gold."  But  because  God  has  chosen 
to  make  eternal  life  a  free  gift,  he  has  not,  therefore, 
denied  us  the  privilege  of  worshiping  him  with  our  sub- 
stance and  using  our  money  to  serve  him. 

[85] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

That  money  is  needed  to  do  this  work,  the  following 
considerations  will  show  : 

1.  It  is  right,  and  God  has  ordained  that  there  shall 
be  a  ministerial  office  in  the  church.  There  should  be  at 
least  one  man  for  each  Christian  community  who  shall 
devote  his  whole  time  to  the  study  and  ministry  of  the 
word  and  to  prayer.  God  has  commanded  him  to  give 
himself  "wholly"  to  these  things.  Of  course  it  is  neces- 
sary for  that  man  to  get  a  living.  But  whence  shall  that 
living  come  ?  If  he  stops  to  make  his  own  living,  he  will 
not  be  giving  himself  "wholly"  to  these  things.  In  pro- 
portion as  his  spiritual  ministrations  are  interrupted  by 
worldly  cares  and  avocations  will  his  knowledge  of  the 
word  be  imperfect  and  his  ministry  enfeebled.  My  stand- 
ard of  ministerial  scholarship  and  efficiency  are  very  far 
above  the  plain  on  which  I  labor,  but  if  I  were  forced  to 
work  for  a  living  from  Monday  morning  till  Saturday  night 
and  then  preach  on  Sunday  such  things  as  I  had  gathered 
through  the  week,  I  would  sink  to  a  level  very  far  below  the 
one  I  now  occupy.  If,  then,  a  minister  may  not  stop  to 
earn  his  own  living,  whence  can  that  living  come  except  it 
be  from  the  offerings  of  God's  people  which  they  make  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  worship  of  God  ?  God  has  made 
no  other  provision, 

2,  Not  only  has  God  not  made  any  other  provision  than 
that,  he  has  in  fact  made  exactly  that  provision.  [Perhaps 
I  should  pause  here  for  an  explanation.  I  hope  that  no 
one  imagines  for  a  moment  that  these  remarks  have  any 
reference  that  is  personal  to  myself.  No  congregation 
could  discharge  its  obligations  to  its  pastor  more  com- 
pletely and  punctually  than  you  have  met  all  your  finan- 
cial obligations  to  me.  If  it  were  otherwise  I  would  not 
feel  at  liberty  to  discuss  the  subject  as  freely  as  I  do.  As 
I  explained  in  a  former  sermon,  I  am  preaching  upon  this 
class  of  subjects  in  response  to  a  request  to  do  so,  and  be- 
cause we  are  now  contemplating  a  change  in  our  method 

[86] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 

of  raising  the  revenues  of  the  church.  I  wish,  therefore, 
to  discuss  the  subject  in  a  manner  that  shall  be  free  from 
all  personal  references  and  upon  the  high  ground  of  Bible 
teaching  and  Christian  duty  and  privilege.  With  this  ex- 
planation I  will  proceed  with  the  proof  that  God  has 
ordained  that  the  ministry  shall  be  supported  out  of  the 
offerings  of  his  worshipers] . 

At  I  Timothy  v:17  we  find  these  words  :  "Let  the 
elders  that  rule  well  be  counted  worthy  of  double  honor, 
especially  they  who  labor  in  the  word  and  doctrine." 
What  is  this  "honor"  that  is  to  be  accorded  all  elders  and 
a  double  portion  of  which  is  due  to  those  '  'elders  who  rule 
well"  or  "who  labor  in  the  word  and  doctrine  ?"  A  close 
study  of  the  word  in  its  historical  uses  in  Israel  and  in  its 
connection  with  the  passage  here,  will  lead  you  to  the  con- 
clusion that  by  "honor"  Paul  meant  a  material  support  of 
some  kind.  This  is  made  clear  by  the  following  verse. 
When  we  discuss  religious  subjects  we  are  in  the  habit  of 
quoting  from  the  Bible  to  support  our  positions,  and  so 
Paul  did  in  this  case.  Passing  to  the  next  verse  (the 
18th)  we  find  him  quoting  from  Deuteronomy:  "Thou 
shalt  not  muzzle  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn." 

The  old  way  of  threshing  wheat  (for  that  is  what  is 
meant  by  "corn")  was  to  drive  oxen  to  and  fro  across  it 
and  let  them  tread  the  grain  out  of  the  straw.  When  they 
became  tired  and  hungry,  they  would  reach  down  and  get 
a  mouthful  of  straw,  sometimes  getting  grain  along  with 
the  straw.  A  stingy  man  would  be  inclined  to  stop  this 
little  waste  by  muzzling  the  oxen  or  tying  baskets  over 
their  mouths.  The  law  of  Moses  forbade  their  treating 
the  oxen  so.  It  was  upon  the  principle  of  justice  that  the 
oxen  were  earning  all  they  got.  They  were  yielding  in- 
comparably greater  quantities  of  grain  than  they  were 
getting.  Now  why  does  Paul  quote  that  particular  scrip- 
ture in  this  connection  ?  What  bearing  has  it  on  the  sub- 
ject in  hand,  the  giving  of  "honor"  to  elders  ?    The  logic 

[87J 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 

of  the  quotation  is  that  "elders  who  rule  well,  especially 
they  who  labor  in  the  word  and  doctrine,"  are  treading 
out  the  bread  of  life  for  the  people,  and  whilst  they  are  so 
engaged  they  are  not  to  be  debarred  from  getting  a  living 
by  that  work.  He  follows  up  this  quotation  with  another, 
"The  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire."  The  minister  is  a 
laborer,  and  if  you  get  any  good  at  all  out  of  his  labors,  it 
is  worth  far  more  to  you  than  the  support  you  give  him. 
Paul  says  elsewhere  on  the  same  subject,  "If  we  have 
sown  unto  you  spiritual  things,  is  it  a  great  thing  if  we 
reap  your  carnal  things?"  In  further  proof  of  the  same 
position  we  might  turn  to  the  ninth  chapter  of  First  Corin- 
thians, where  a  great  deal  of  the  chapter  is  taken  up  with 
the  direct  discussion  of  this  subject  and  it  is  all  so  forcible 
that  it  is  hard  to  select  one  verse  or  a  few  verses  for 
illustration.  There  we  find  the  apostle  using  the  same 
quotation  he  did  in  1  Timothy,  v  :  18  :  "Thou  shalt  not 
muzzle  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn,"  and  again 
applies  it  to  the  subject  of  supporting  the  ministry.  And 
he  adds  the  question,  "Doth  God  take  care  for  Oxen  ?  or 
saith  he  it  altogether  for  our  sakes  ?  For  our  sakes,  no 
doubt,  this  is  written. "  That  is,  God's  object  in  putting 
that  precept  into  the  law  of  Moses  and  keeping  it  there 
through  all  these  centuries  was  to  impress  upon  the  people 
this  simple  principle  of  justice  in  order  that  it  might  be 
applied  to  the  support  of  the  Christian  ministry  in  these 
latter  times.  "That  he  that  ploweth  should  plow  in  hope, 
and  he  that  thresheth  in  hope  should  be  partaker  of  his 
hope."  In  this  same  ninth  chapter  also  occurs  this  lan- 
guage :  "Do  ye  not  know  that  they  which  minister  about 
holy  things  live  of  the  things  of  the  temple  ?  And  they 
which  wait  at  the  altar  are  partakers  with  the  altar  ? 
Even  so  hath  the  Lord  ordained  that  they  which  preach 
the  Gospel  should  live  of  the  Gospel."  Do  not  such  pas- 
sages satisfy  us  that  the  church  must  nave  money  to  keep 
itself  supplied  with  the  Gospel  ? 

[88] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

3.  But  the  church  needs  money  not  only  to  supply 
itself  with  the  ministration  of  the  Gospel,  but  also  to  send 
that  Gospel  to  those  who  do  not  have  it.  The  command 
of  Christ  is  to  "preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature." 
And  Paul  asks  in  reference  to  the  heathen,  "How  shall 
they  call  on  Him  in  whom  they  have  not  believed,  and 
how  shall  they  believe  in  Him  of  whom  they  have  not 
heard,  and  how  shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher,  and 
how  shall  they  preach  except  they  be  sent  ?  "  And  it  is  in 
the  line  of  these  questions  to  add,  "How  shall  they  be 
sent  without  money  ?  ' '  Whether  they  go  by  railway  and 
steamship  or  afoot,  money  is  necessary  to  support  them. 
But  it  is  useless  to  dwell  longer  on  this  proposition. 
Enough  has  been  said  to  show  that  both  Scripture  and 
sound  reasoning  place  it  beyond  every  vestige  of  doubt. 

II.  The  next  proposition  is  this  : 

In  order  that  the  church  may  do  the  work  which  the 
Lord  has  given  it  to  do,  it  must  have  A  GREAT  deal  of 

MONEY. 

If  you  were  to  travel  from  this  point  in  a  westerly 
direction  for  a  hundred  miles  you  would  doubtless  encoun- 
ter communities  that  are  thickly  settled  with  an  ignor- 
ant, thriftless,  godless  population  that  needs  the  Gospel. 
There  will,  of  course,  be  some  ready  to  say  that  it  is  useless 
to  preach  the  Gospel  to  such  people,  but  they  say  so  in 
ignorance  of  what  the  Gospel  is  now  doing  in  many  such 
communities  and  forgetful  of  the  fact  that  their  own  an- 
cestors were  rescued  from  a  far  worse  condition  by  this 
same  Gospel.  I  once  heard  a  lawyer  say  to  a  jury,  "If  I 
thought  my  client  was  guilty  of  the  crime  of  which  he  is 
accused,  I  would  not  reach  out  my  hand  to  save  him  from 
torment."  Everybody  knew  that  the  client  was  guilty 
and  that  the  lawyer  knew  he  was  and  had  consented  to 
defend  him  only  on  condition  of  a  fee  of  five  hundred  dol- 
lars. He  was  not  only  reaching  out  his  hand  to  save  him, 
but  putting  forth  all  his  might.     No,  there  never  lived  a 

[89] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 

man  so  infamously  wicked  and  cruel,  but  what  we  would 
do  all  in  our  power  to  save  him  if  we  believed  he  was  going 
to  torment.  Now  when  a  minister  goes  to  such  a  com- 
munity as  I  have  mentioned  and  preaches  the  Gospel  there, 
that  Gospel  proves  just  as  sweet  and  saving  there  as  it 
does  among  us.  They  accept  it,  and  they  are  gathered 
into  a  church.  They  must  have  a  house  to  worship  in  and 
a  preacher  to  instruct  them.  They  cannot  supply  these 
for  themselves.  It  takes  time  for  the  Gospel  to  work  such 
a  change  in  their  lives  that  they  can  become  industrious, 
economical,  yet  liberal  and  self-supporting.  Meanwhile, 
according  to  the  Bible  rule  that  we  ought  to  bear  one 
another's  burdens  and  the  strong  should  help  the  weak,  it 
is  our  duty  to  assist  them.  Now  there  are  many  such 
churches  throughout  the  country  and  they  create  a  de- 
mand for  a  great  deal  of  money.  Again,  more  than  one- 
fifth  of  all  the  churches  on  our  roll  are  marked  "vacant" 
in  the  minutes  of  the  assembly.  A  great  many  of  those  not 
marked  "vacant"  have  preaching  but  rarely.  Many  have 
preaching  only  every  other  Sabbath  ;  many  have  it  but 
one  Sabbath  out  of  three  or  four,  and  some  of  them  but 
once  in  two  months.  Many  ministers  whose  whole  time  is 
occupied  with  one  church  or  a  group  of  churches  are  insuffi- 
ciently supported.  They  are  driven  to  penurious  economy 
wearing  coarse  and  often  threadbare  clothes  themselves 
subjecting  their  families  to  privations,  in  order  to  eke  out 
a  scanty  living  on  from  four  to  seven  hundred  dollars  a 
year— less  money  than  is  often  paid  by  large  cities  for 
fourth-rate  officials  to  idle  away  their  time.  This  is  not  an 
exaggeration.  A  few  years  ago  I  met  a  gentleman  who 
had  often  visited  in  a  congregation  that  was  served  by  a 
minister  whom  I  had  known  as  a  student  at  the  Theologi- 
cal Seminary.  I  asked  how  this  former  acquaintance  was 
succeeding  in  the  ministry  and  had  this  reply:  "He  is 
doing  very  poorly.  Sometimes  he  preaches  very  good 
sermons  and  they  show  what  he  can  do.     But  generally  he 

[90] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


preaches  very  poor  sermons,  though  the  people  bear  with 
the  poor  ones  very  patiently,  for  they  understand  that  he  has 
been  at  the  plow  all  the  week  when  he  preaches  to  them." 
I  grant  that  that  is  an  exceptional  case,  but  it  is  not  a  rare 
exception,  as  I  could  show  by  other  illustrations.  But  what 
must  the  rule  be  that  admits  of  such  exceptions  !  Money 
is  needed  to  piece  out  the  living  of  such  men  so  as  to 
allow  them  to  give  themselves  fully  and  efficiently  to  the 
ministry. 

Again,  take  the  case  of  ministers  disabled  by  age  or 
disease,  and  of  helpless  families  of  deceased  ministers.  So 
many  have  been  receiving  such  small  salaries  that  they  are 
unable  to  save  anything  against  an  evil  day.  When  sick- 
ness, old  age  or  death  overtakes  them  they  are  found  in 
absolute  destitution.  You  may  place  them  upon  the  roll 
of  paupers  if  you  wish,  but  still  the  duty  of  making  some 
provision  for  them  as  for  other  paupers  is  an  imperative 
one.  The  Masons  take  care  of  their  poor  and  so  do  other 
fraternities.  How  much  more  should  the  church  do  so 
when  these  have  sacrificed  themselves  in  her  service  ?  But 
to  meet  this  obligation,  there  must  be  more  money. 

Again,  we  have  candidates  for  the  ministry  to  be  aided 
in  getting  an  education.  A  very  large  proportion  of  our 
candidates  for  the  ministry  come  from  poorer  families.  They 
have  nothing  to  offer  to  the  Lord  except  themselves.  We 
must  either  cut  off  the  supply  of  ministers  to  that  extent 
or  else  provide  the  means  for  educating  them. 

Again,  consider  the  work  of  home  missions  proper,  or 
that  of  carrying  the  Gospel  to  parts  of  this  country  that  are 
destitute  of  it.  Those  of  you  who  have  read  Dr.  Strong's 
book  will  recall  the  outline  of  his  argument  setting  forth 
the  problem  of  home  missions  as  it  lies  before  the  church 
to-day.  Think  of  the  immense  influence  to  be  wielded  in 
the  future  by  the  Trans-Mississippi  region  of  the  United 
States  !  Think  of  the  portentous  forces  of  godless  immi- 
gration, Romanism,  Mormonism,  sociahsm,  intemperance, 

[91] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

sudden  wealth  and  the  congregating  of  large  bodies  of 
wild,  lawless  men  into  the  cities  and  mining  camps,  all  of 
which  are  fast  combining  in  the  formation  of  an  ominous 
national  character  there  !  How  important  it  is  that  the 
power  of  the  Gospel  shall  be  felt  there  while  the  mass  is 
forming,  to  neutralize  the  evil  and  to  create  a  religious 
life  among  the  people  !  To  do  this  immense  work  requires 
a  geat  deal  of  money. 

Once  more,  remember  that  there  are  yet  a  thousand 
million  heathen  in  the  world,  and  our  Saviour  has  laid  upon 
this  generation  the  obligation  to  do  all  it  can  to  make  known 
the  Gospel  to  every  one  of  them.  He  said  :  "Go  ye  into 
all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature." 
He  did  not  grant  the  church  an  unlimited  time  in  which  to 
obey  that  command.  He  did  not  say,  "I  will  give  you  ten 
thousand  years,"  nor  "I  will  give  you  six  thousand  years." 
He  did  not  allow  two  thousand  years.  He  did  not  say 
to  us,  "Go  on  and  take  your  ease,  build  fine  homes, 
buy  up  great  farms,  accumulate  bank  stock,  surround 
yourselves  with  every  luxury  and  occasionally  when  you 
get  into  a  mellow  mood  give  a  little  something  to  save 
some  of  your  perishing  fellowmen.  But  take  your  own 
time."  He  did  not  speak  in  that  way.  He  did  sanction 
some  delay.  He  said,  "Tarry  ye  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem 
until  ye  be  endued  with  power  from  on  high."  But  as 
soon  as  that  "power  from  on  high"  came  down  upon 
them  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  the  command  became  at 
once  a  present,  pressing,  imperative,  terrific,  explosive, 
"Go  !"  The  Duke  of  Wellington  is  said  to  have  called 
this  command  the  "Church's  marching  orders,"  but  this 
army  has  waited  two  thousand  years  to  obey  the  General's 
orders  to  march !" 

Dr.  Pierson  has  drawn  a  telling  contrast  between  the 
conduct  of  the  church  in  this  matter  and  the  action  of 
Mordecai  when  the  Jews  were  threatened.  Haman  secured 
a  decree  for  the  extermination  of  the  Jews.     That  decree 

L92] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


could  not  be  revoked,  but  Mordecai  secured  a  counter-decree 
permitting  the  Jews  to  defend  themselves  when  assailed. 
It  was  necessary  to  make  known  this  decree  to  all  the  Jews 
living  in  all  the  kingdom.  There  were  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  provinces,  extending  from  Hindostan  on  the 
east  to  Ethiopia  on  the  west,  and  each  province  had  its 
own  language  or  dialect.  Mordecai  undertook  the  work  of 
placing  this  decree  in  the  possession  of  every  Jew  in 
all  these  provinces,  and  in  his  own  dialect.  He  had  no 
facilities  for  the  work,  such  as  printing  presses,  mail, 
telegraph,  railroad  or  steamship,  and  yet  in  less  than  nine 
months  he  had  finished  the  work. 

He  also  tells  a  story  to  illustrate  the  same  point :  A 
minister  once  asked  an  English  soldier  if  Queen  Victoria 
were  to  issue  a  decree  and  command  the  British  army  to 
place  it  in  the  hands  of  every  creature,  how  long  it  would 
take  to  accomplish  it.  His  reply  was  :  "I  think  we  could 
manage  it  in  about  eighteen  months. ' '  But  the  church, 
with  equal  resources  and  with  infinitely  more  tremendous 
motives,  has  dragged  along  for  nearly  2,000  years  and  has 
scarcely  made  a  beginning  of  doing  the  work  yet.  Now 
that  Great  Commission  rests  upon  the  conscience  of  the 
present  generation  with  all  the  weight  it  would  have  had 
if  no  preceding  generation  had  been  negligent  of  its  duty. 
It  is  just  as  if  all  intervening  generations  were  obliterated 
and  the  church  of  to-day  were  standing  in  the  immediate 
presence  of  its  Lord,  and  receiving  the  whole  commission, 
were  charged  with  its  prompt  accomplishment. 

Imagine  yourself  standing  on  the  brink  of  a  precipice 
and  as  you  look  landward  you  see  a  cloud  of  dust  in  the 
distance.  As  you  closely  watch  it,  you  see  the  moving 
forms  of  human  beings  in  the  midst.  As  it  approaches 
nearer,  you  discern  that  is  it  a  moving  column  of  humanity, 
marching  four  abreast  and  directly  towards  you.  When  it 
gets  very  near,  you  stand  aside  to  see  what  it  will  do,  ex- 
pecting it  to  turn  either  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the  left. 

[93] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

But  it  does  not  do  either.  It  marches  on  and  off  and  is 
dashed  to  pieces  on  the  rocks  below.  File  after  file  follow 
to  the  same  dreadful  death.  You  shriek  yourself  hoarse 
and  make  the  wildest  gestures  to  warn  them  of  their  dan- 
ger, but  it  is  all  in  vain — they  are  blind  and  deaf.  You 
look  back  to  see  how  long  that  column  of  death  is,  and  you 
cannot  see  the  end.  It  is  interminable.  Now  if  you  know 
something  that  could  save  them  and  do  not  resort  to  it, 
would  you  not  be  something  less  than  human  ? 

This  is  not  a  fancy  scene  I  have  tried  to  draw,  but  a 
terribly  earnest  reality.  That  moving  column  is  the 
heathen  world,  blind  and  deaf,  marching  with  that  same 
steady  step  toward  the  brink  of  ruin,  and  every  step 
launches  its  file  of  four  into  that  abyss.  On  and  on  it 
comes,  a  ceaseless  stream,  till  God  through  his  church  shall 
arrest  it: 

Now  take  a  birdseye  view  of  the  work.  There  are 
weak  churches  to  help,  ministers  to  be  supported, 
invalid  ministers  to  care  for,  poor  boys  to  educate 
for  the  ministry,  a  vast  unoccupied  territory  in  this 
country  to  be  evangelized,  and  a  thousand  million 
heathen  to  whom  the  Lord  has  commanded  us  to  take  the 
Gospel.  Do  you  not  then  assent  to  the  second  proposition 
that  the  church  needs  a  great  deal  of  money  to  do  its 
work? 

HI.  My  next  proposition  is  : 

The  Church  of  to-day  has  MONEY  ENOUGH  to  do  the  work, 
if  it  were  only  consecrated  to  that  end. 

A  few  simple  calculations  will  make  this  evident. 
What  is  the  total  amount  of  money  paid  out  by  the  people 
of  the  United  States  in  a  year  as  the  result  of  revenue- 
legislation  ?  It  is  impossible  to  tell  exactly,  but  we  can 
reach  a  safe  working  estimate.  The  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  of  the  United  States  has  recently  given  out  his 
estimate  of  the  expenses  of  the  government  for  the  cur- 
rent year  (1894)  and  it  is  about  four  hundred  and  fifty 

[94] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

millions  of  dollars.  The  annual  revenues  amount  to  possi- 
bly a  little  less  than  that,  though  not  much.  To  make  a 
safe  estimate,  let  us  say  that  the  revenues  amount  to 
$400,000,000.  Add  to  this,  $100,000,000  as  a  safe  estimate 
of  the  revenues  of  all  the  states.  But  this  is  not  all.  I 
once  heard  an  eminent  statesman,  who  had  occupied  the 
high  position  of  chairman  of  the  committee  of  ways  and 
means  of  the  National  House  of  Representatives,  make 
this  statement  in  a  public  speech  :  "The  increase  in  the 
price  of  manufactured  goods  in  this  country,  resulting 
from  tariff  laws,  which  does  not  go  into  the  National 
Treasury  but  to  manufacturers,  amounts  to  a  thousand 
millions  of  dollars  a  year."  You  understand  he  does  not 
say  that  that  is  the  cost  of  manufactured  goods,  but  these 
goods  cost  that  much  more  than  they  would  if  legislation 
were  different.  I  take  it  for  granted  that  a  man  occu- 
pying his  high  position,  and  at  that  time  aspiring  to  a 
higher,  would  not  be  reckless  in  the  statement  of  facts  of 
which  he  had  every  opportunity  to  judge,  especially  in  a 
public  speech  that  would  be  reported  in  all  the  large  papers 
in  the  country.  But  suppose  that  it  be  granted  that  he 
was  not  a  statesman,  but  merely  a  politician,  making 
these  statements  for  party  purposes.  Suppose  we  say  that 
he  is  very  wide  of  the  mark  and  so,  in  order  to  be  safe, 
divide  his  figures  by  two.  That  would  still  leave  $500,- 
000,000  going  in  that  direction.  Now,  if  we  add  that  to 
the  other  $500,000,000  we  found  actually  paid  into  National 
and  State  treasuries,  the  grand  total  paid  out  annually  by 
the  people  of  this  country  as  the  result  of  revenue  laws 
will  certainly  reach  the  sum  of  one  thousand  million  dol- 
lars. [I  take  it  that  in  these  remarks  I  am  not  touching 
on  the  dangerous  ground  of  politics.  Political  parties 
differ  as  to  conclusions  drawn  from  such  estimates  rather 
than  upon  the  estimates  themselves] .  That  thousand  mil- 
lions of  dollars  is  paid  without  any  very  perceptible  strain. 
Six  years  ago  we  had  a  national  political  campaign  in  which 

[95] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

the  parties  joined  issue  upon  the  single  question  of  whether 
or  not  the  laws  should  be  changed  so  as  to  reduce  these 
burdens.  But,  though  the  intellectual  faculties  of  the 
people  were  fully  aroused  and  concentrated  upon  this 
question,  it  was  impossible  to  persuade  them  sufficiently 
of  the  grievousness  of  taxation  to  make  them  consent  to 
any  change  in  the  laws.  Now,  what  part  of  that  large 
sum  of  money  do  the  Christian  people  pay  ?  The  Chris- 
tians (Protestants)  are  one-fifth  of  the  whole  population  ? 
It  is  true  that  many  of  these  are  women  and  children  who 
do  not  control  much  money.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  true  that 
comparatively  very  few  of  the  very  poor  are  in  the  church. 
Letting  these  two  facts  offset  each  other,  it  will  be  fair  to 
conclude  that  these  Protestant  Christians,  who  are  one- 
fifth  of  the  population,  own  one-fifth  of  the  wealth.  That 
is,  they  pay  one-fifth  of  that  thousand  million  dollars  paid 
out  as  the  result  of  financial  legislation!  That  means  that 
the  Christian  people  in  this  country  pay  annually  $200,- 
000,000  for  the  luxury  of  being  governed.  And  they  do  it 
easily.  When  asked  practically  at  the  ballot  box,  "What 
do  you  think  of  the  burdens  of  taxation  ?"  they  answer, 
"We  do  not  care  anything  about  the  burdens  of  taxation. 
We  do  not  feel  them."  Many  of  them  become  angry  be- 
cause the  question  is  raised.  Christian  people  pay  out 
annually  $200,000,000  and  never  miss  it ! 

Let  us  look  at  the  question  from  another  point  of  view. 
Dr.  Strong  calculates  that  the  increase  of  wealth  of  the 
Christians  of  this  country  is  very  nearly  $500,000,- 
000  a  year  That  is  not  their  entire  income,  but  their  sur- 
plus. After  they  have  met  all  their  necessary  expenses, 
and  paid  their  taxes,  and  made  their  church  contributions, 
and  done  their  charities,  and  made  their  presents,  and 
bought  their  luxuries  and  pleasures,  and  can  find  no  way 
by  which  they  can  spend  any  more,  they  then  have  $500,- 
000,000  left  over  that  does  nothing  but  roll  itself  over 
like  a  snow-ball  and  get  bigger. 

[96] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

Examine  the  question  from  still  another  point  of 
view.  What  proportion  of  our  people  are  consumers  of 
ardent  spirits  ?  In  view  of  the  fact  that  but  a  small  pro- 
portion of  women  and  children  use  them  at  all,  I  think  it 
would  be  safe  to  take  the  estimate  given  by  one  who  is 
regarded  as  an  authority,  and  say  that  about  one-fifth  of 
the  population  are  consumers  of  intoxicants.  That  means 
that  for  every  Christian  in  the  land  there  is  one  consumer 
of  drink.  Now  certainly  the  Christian  people  are  equally 
as  able  financially  as  those  who  use  strong  drink,  and 
probably  they  are  better  off.  What  then  are  the  people  of 
this  class  able  to  give  for  their  beverage  ?  They  pay 
$900,000,000  annually.  They  pay  eagerly  and  greedily 
$900,000,000  a  year  for  that  which  is  taking  their  bodies 
to  the  grave  and  their  souls  to  hell.  Could  not  the  church 
with  the  same  number  and  the  same  ability  pay  the  same 
sum  with  the  same  ease,  if  it  loved  its  Master  as  they 
love  their  enemy  ? 

Let  me  not  speak  injuriously  of  the  church  as  a  whole. 
There  is  no  such  devotion  in  the  world  as  some  of  the  fol- 
lowers of  Christ  show  to  Him  and  His  cause.  I  know  a 
candidate  for  the  ministry  now  in  college  who  walks  the 
whole  distance  from  his  home  across  mountain  roads  to 
get  to  college.  He  takes  the  little  sum  given  him  by  his 
Presbytery  and  friends  to  pay  his  board.  After  college 
hours  he  makes  a  little  money  by  small  jobs  of  work 
through  the  town.  In  vacation  he  spends  his  mornings 
teaching  school  and  his  afternoons  in  a  railroad  cut  shovel- 
ing and  hauling  dirt.  All  this  he  is  doing  in  order  that  he 
may  have  the  sweet  privilege  of  preaching  the  Gospel. 

I  recall  another  case  of  one  of  the  purest  and  brightest 
young  men  we  had  at  college  while. I  was  there.  He  was 
a  candidate  for  the  ministry  and  he  had  to  stop  one  year 
and  teach  school  to  get  means  for  completing  his  educa- 
tion. While  teaching  school,  another  opportunity  was 
offered    to    do  remunerative  work  and  he  accepted  it, 

[97] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

though  it  kept  him  up  nearly  all  night.  At  length  the 
great  strain  of  working  so  constantly  with  so  little  sleep, 
affected  his  brain.  In  a  moment  of  temporary  insanity  he 
assailed  a  man  with  a  horse  whip  and  was  shot  to  death. 
He  was  a  man  of  such  a  gentle,  loving  spirit  that  he  was 
one  of  the  very  last  men  we  would  have  suspected  to  be 
capable  of  such  violence. 

There  are  sewing  women  who  are  wearing  their  fin- 
gers out  to  make  a  living,  and  then  give  a  large  part  of 
what  they  earn  to  the  worship  of  God.  There  are  those 
in  this  town  who  habitually  deny  themselves  what  we  re- 
gard as  the  necessary  things  of  life  in  order  that  they  may 
give  to  the  worship  of  God.  There  are  also  wealthy  per- 
sons who  consecrate  their  substance  after  the  same  man- 
ner. There  is  no  passion  in  the  world  so  strong  as  the  love 
for  Christ  is  in  some  souls.  What  a  revolution  there  would 
be  if  the  whole  church  were  aroused  to  the  same  degree 
of  consecration. 

Now  what  could  be  accomplished  if  the  Christian 
people  would  contribute  for  religious  uses  such  sums  as 
they  are  manifestly  able  to  do  ?  I  calculate  that  for  every 
one  thousand  dollars  expended  in  foreign  mission  work, 
there  is  one  Hving  missionary  in  the  field.  I  do  not  mean 
that  every  missionary  gets  a  salary  of  one  thousand  dol- 
lars. Very  far  from  it !  I  mean  that  when  all  the  money 
expended  in  various  ways  in  mission  work  is  added  up  and 
the  whole  divided  by  the  number  of  missionaries,  it 
amounts  to  a  thousand  dollars  to  each  missionary.  So 
that  if  the  Christians  would  put  as  much  money  into  the 
work  of  the  church  as  is  now  paid  because  of  revenue 
laws,  it  would  put  two  hundred  thousand  missionaries  into 
the  field.  If  they  would  use  the  $500,000,000  of  surplus 
earnings  in  the  work,  that  would  put  five  hundred  thous- 
and missionaries  into  the  field.  And  if  they  would  give 
as  bountifully  as  men  pay  for  intoxicants,  they  would 
place   nine  hundred   thousand   missionaries   in   the   field 

[98] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


—nearly  a  million  men.  If  these  million  missionaries 
divide  up  the  heathen  world  equally  among  themselves 
there  would  be  one  missionary  to  every  one  thousand  souls. 
This  shows  what  the  Christians  of  the  United  States  alone 
could  do,  to  say  nothing  of  the  rest  of  the  Christian 
world.  . 

This  has  been  a  century  of  marvellous  progress  in 
every  department  of  human  activity.  All  the  modern  work 
of  missions  has  been  done  during  this  century.  While  that 
work  has  not  more  than  fairly  begun,  yet  it  is  opening  up 
wonderfully.  It  seems  to  lack  but  one  thing.  It  lags  for 
want  of  means.  But  there  are  signs  of  awakening  on  every 
hand.  Some  ten  years  ago  our  church  was  giving  less  than 
fifty  thousand  dollars  to  the  cause  of  Foreign  Missions  and 
the  Assembly  asked  for  a  hundred  thousand.  I  for  one 
felt  depressed  about  it,  when  I  thought  how  much  was 
needed  and  how  little  was  given,  and  how  hard  it  was  to 
raise  that  little.  But  within  these  ten  years  we  have  in- 
creased to  an  amount  nearly  three  times  as  great  as  it  was 
then.  Of  course,  the  demands  have  grown  as  well  as  the 
supply,  but  I  wish  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  there 
is  growth  in  giving. 

Now  if  the  church  should  awake  to  a  sense  of  its  full 
ability  and  responsibility  and  send  out  its  two  or  nine 
hundred  thousand  missionaries,  and  the  other  churches  of 
Christendom  do  as  well,  prosecuting  their  work  with  equal 
vigor  for  the  next  six  years,  and  so  enter  upon  a  great 
campaign  to  occupy  the  world  for  Jesus,  it  could  put  the 
gospel  into  the  hands  of  every  living  creature  before  the 
year  1900,  and  so  as  we  pass  from  this  century  into  the 
next,  we  would  pass  into  a  new  era.  This  may  seem 
extravagant,  but  so  have  all  great  achievements  seemed 
before  they  were  realized.  Steam  is  one  of  the  greatest 
agents  man  has  ever  mastered,  and  while  it  is  so  simple  we 
wonder  every  child  did  not  discover  its  use,  for  ages  it 
struggled  in  vain  from  every  tea  pot  to  declare  itself  to  man. 

[99] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

If  some  prophet  would  predict  to  us  some  of  the  uses  to 
which  electricity  will  be  put  within  a  few  years,  he  would 
be  laughed  at,  if,  indeed,  he  were  not  regarded  as  too  silly 
for  laughter.  Yet  this  immense  agency  lies  idle  all  around 
us,  struggling  in  some  language  we  cannot  yet  read  to 
tell  us  what  it  can  do— services  long  desired,  but  long 
esteemed  impossible.  But  there  is  a  mightier  power 
than  either  steam  or  electricity  lying  within  the  reach  of 
the  church,  crying  out  for  recognition  and  crying  in  vain. 
For  two  thousand  years  the  church  has  been  praying, 
"Thy  kingdom  come,"  and  doubtless  really  wishing  it  to 
come,  yet  here  is  the  simple  means  for  bringing  it  to  pass 
whenever  it  shall  be  consecrated  to  that  end.  It  is  a  lever 
by  which  the  church  may  be  prized  from  its  militant  to  its 
triumphant  state. 

IV.     The  next  proposition  is  : 

The  Church  has  NOT  properly  consecrated  its 
MONEY  to  the  ivork. 

We  sometimes  hear  a  remark  like  this :  '  'All  that 
Christian  people  need  is  to  have  a  cause  properly  presented 
to  them  and  they  will  respond  liberally."  That  means 
that  people  will  contribute  a  few  cents  or  dollars  to  any 
proper  cause  however  indifferently  it  is  presented,  but  that 
if  a  good  appeal  is  made  they  will  contribute  a  few  more 
cents  or  dollars.  And  this  may  be  liberal  according  to 
prevailing  ideas,  but  prevailing  ideas  are  all  too  low.  The 
conduct  of  Christians  in  this  matter  is  frequently  like  that 
of  a  man  who  has  suddenly  become  very  rich,  who  wants 
to  live  like  a  rich  man,  but  who  does  not  know  how.  He 
does  not  know  the  comparative  value  of  different  objects 
nor  their  relative  importance.  He  does  not  know  what  is 
the  proper  amount  of  money  to  spend  on  this  class  of 
luxuries  and  that.  Now,  Christians,  with  all  their  educa- 
tion and  culture  in  other  matters,  have  never  learned  the 
true  measure  of  the  worship  of  God  with  their  substance. 
Out  of  all  the  wealth  owned  by  Christains  in  this  country, 

LlOO] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

and  confronted  with  such  a  problem  of  work  as  they  are, 
they  give  only  five  and  a  half  millions  to  foreign  missions. 
This  may  seem  like  a  large  amount,  but  ''large"  and 
"small"  are  relative  terms.  As  compared  with  the  little 
you  and  I  may  have,  it  is  a  large  sum.  But  when  we  com- 
pare it  with  the  total  wealth  of  Cristians,  when  we  com- 
pare it  with  what  they  uncomplainingly  give  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  government,  with  what  the  intemperate  man 
pays  for  his  beverage,  with  the  needs  of  the  work,  it  is 
very,  very  small.  There  is  a  cry  from  every  part  of  the 
church  for  more  money.  I  think  the  managers  of  our  bene- 
ficent enterprises  are  the  saddest  looking  men  in  our  midst. 
Letters  come  pouring  in  upon  them  all  the  time,  telling  of 
personal  distress,  domestic  tragedies  and  spiritual  destitu- 
tion, wringing  their  hearts  till  they  have  acquired  a  look 
and  tone  of  suffering. 

About  twenty  years  ago  there  was  a  singular  phenom- 
enon in  the  city  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  perhaps  peculiar  to 
that  city  and  possibly  it  may  be  witnessed  there  still. 
During  an  alarm  of  fire  at  night  it  seemed  as  if  the  whole 
population  rushed  into  the  streets  and  shouted  "Fire  !  " 
That  same  cry  coming  from  so  many  different  directions 
and  in  so  many  different  keys  blended  into  one  continuous, 
prolonged,  unearthly  wail  that,  like  some  great  live  thing, 
seemed  to  wind  itself  around  and  around  in  the  darkness 
above  the  city  as  long  as  the  alarm  lasted.  If  we  could 
hear  all  the  cries  of  distress  that  come  from  all  over  the 
church,  would  they  not  combine  into  such  a  piteous  wail 
like  the  wailing  of  the  lost !  Could  this  be  so  while  the 
church  has  all  the  wealth  we  have  seen  that  it  possesses, 
if  that  money  was  in  any  sense  really  consecrated  to  the 
Master's  work  ? 

I  hope  to  be  able  to  conclude  the  discussion  when  we 
meet  again  next  Sabbath. 


[101] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


SECOND  SERMON 

Text  -.  —  "Honor  the  Lord  with  Thy  Substance." 
Prov.  111:9. 

ON  last  Sabbath  I  began  to  preach  on  "The  Worship 
of  God  with  Our  Substance,"  treating  the  subject 
in  a  series  of  propositions.  I  had  proceeded  as  far  as 
the  fourth    proposition.      This  morning  I  bespeak   your 
interest  while  I  resume  the  series. 

V.  My  next  proposition  or  set  of  propositions  have  refer- 
ence to  a  plan  for  bringing  the  church  up  to  a  proper 
STANDARD  OF  CONSECRATION.  What  are  some  of  the 
characteristics  to  be  sought  after  in  devising  such  a  plan  ? 

1.  It  should  be  a  plan  that  will  result  in  a  sufficent 
supply  of  money  to  do  the  work. 

I  need  not  dwell  on  that.  If  we  have  the  work  to  do 
and  have  the  money  to  do  it,  we  should  certainly  adopt 
some  plan  for  applying  the  money  to  the  work. 

2.  It  should  be  a  plan  that  will  distribute  the  burdens 
of  church  support  equitably  among  the  members. 

A  plan  is  wanted  that  will  secure  from  each  member  a 
sum  that  in  proportion  to  his  income  is  the  equivalent  of 
what  every  other  member  is  contributing  in  proportion  to 
his  income.  How  often  it  happens  that  this  state  of  things 
exists  in  a  congregation  :  There  is  a  wealthy  man  in  the 
church  who  contributes  largely  to  all  causes,  and  he  is  a 
complainer.  He  complains  because  he  has  too  much  of 
the  burden  of  the  expense  of  the  church  to  bear.  He  says 
that  he  has  the  whole  church  on  his  shoulders.  Then  there 
is  in  the  same  church  a  poorer  man  who  contributes  much 
less  than  his  rich  neighbor,  and  he,  too,  complains.  He 
complains  that  the  wealthy  brother  is  far  too  proud  of 
what  he  does,  and  after  all  he  does  not  believe  that  the 
wealthy  man  is  doing  as  much  as  one  of  his  means  ought 
to  do.     We  want,  if  possible,  to  devise  a  plan  that  will 

[102] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

restore  the  equilibrium  and  remove  these  small  jealousies 
and  heart-burnings. 

3.  It  should  be  a  plan  that  will  work  with  the  least  de- 
gree of  friction  possible. 

One  of  the  most  perplexing  questions  in  our  churches 
is  :  "  How  can  we  secure  enough  money  for  our  necessary 
expenses  and  do  it  without  wounding  anybody's  feelings 
and  without  causing  any  unpleasantness?"  The  money 
problem  is  one  that  causes  more  heart-burnings  between 
pastors  and  people  ;  more  ruptures  between  churches  and 
their  higher  courts,  more  envyings,  jealousies  and  aliena- 
tions between  former  friends  in  the  same  church  than  per- 
haps any  other.  It  is  a  problem  that  is  fairly  wearing  out 
the  spirituality  and  efficiency  of  the  church.  Now  when- 
ever we  can  do  something  to  remove  this  friction,  we,  to 
that  extent,  advance  the  prosperity  of  the  church.  When 
a  machine  is  first  invented  the  friction  is  sometimes  so 
great  that  the  machine  tears  itself  to  pieces.  All  the  ex- 
pense saved  in  the  amount  of  work  done  is  lost  in  the  wear 
and  tear  of  the  machine  itself.  Every  unit  that  is  removed 
from  the  friction  of  running  the  machine  is  one  or  more 
units  added  to  the  value  and  efficiency  of  it.  Just  so  in  the 
work  of  the  church.  Every  unit  that  is  taken  from  the 
worry  and  annoyance  involved  in  the  mechanical  opera- 
tions of  it  will  add  a  great  deal  to  its  spiritual  power. 

4.  It  should  be  a  plan  that  will  relieve  the  deacons  of 
the  unpleasant  and  unscriptural  task  of  collecting. 

We  need  a  system  with  some  spontaneity  about  it— one 
by  which,  when  the  appointed  time  comes,  members  will 
come  of  their  own  accord  and  deposit  their  offerings  with 
the  deacons.  That  will  leave  to  those  officers  only  the 
scriptural  duty  of  receiving  those  offerings  and  disbursing 
them. 

5.  It  should  be  a  plan  that  will  establish  a  community 
of  interests  between  a  pastor  and  his  congregation  and 
draw  them  into  a  fuller  sympathy  with  each  other. 

[103] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,    STAUNTON,  VA. 

The  preacher  ought  not  to  be  the  richest  man  in  the 
community  (unless  his  property  has  come  from  a  private 
source,  and  even  then  the  effect  is  bad).  He  ought  not  to 
hve  as  a  prince  among  the  people  and  "  a  lord  over  God's 
heritage, "  as  is  said  to  be  the  case  in  the  north  of  Scotland, 
for  instance.  It  is  said  that,  however  abjact  the  poverty 
of  the  people  may  be,  the  preacher  lives  in  a  comfortable 
home.  (There,  however  the  minister  is  supported  by  the 
State  and  not  by  money  contributed  by  the  worshippers). 
But  if  the  minister  should  not  be  the  richest  man  in  the 
community,  neither  should  he  be  the  poorest.  "Let  him 
that  is  taught  in  the  word  communicate  unto  him  that 
teacheth  in  all  good  things. "  To  "  communicate  "  means 
"  to  make  a  common  cause  with."  Let  the  hearer  make 
common  cause  with  the  preacher.  Let  him  give  towards 
his  support  such  an  amount  as,  added  to  similar  gifts  of 
others,  will  make  the  preacher  an  average  man  in  the  com- 
munity. For  my  part,  I  would  be  glad  to  see  the  plan  of 
a  stated  salary  dispensed  with,  and  another  put  in  its  place 
by  which  the  minister's  support  might  adjust  itself  to  the 
ever  varying  ability  of  the  people.  According  to  the  sal- 
ary plan,  a  stated  amount  must  be  paid  to  the  preacher 
every  year,  whether  the  people  are  making  much  or  little. 
In  years  when  business  depression  prevails,  it  may  be  a 
great  strain  upon  a  church  to  meet  its  obligations  to  its 
pastor.  In  successful  years  it  is  so  easy  to  pay  that  it 
never  causes  the  people  to  have  a  serious  thought  of  God. 
Now,  if  possible,  such  an  arrangement  should  be  made 
that  the  interests  of  the  minister,  and  of  religion  generally, 
would  rise  and  fall  with  those  of  the  people,  and  so  minis- 
ter and  people  would  have  an  additional  pledge  of  mutual 
sympathy. 

6.  It  should  be  a  plan  that  will  promote  the  spiritu- 
ality of  the  church. 

The  very  working  of  the  plan  itself  should  have  the 
effect  of  drawing  the  people  closer  to  God.     There  should 

[104J 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

be  such  a  fixed  ratio  between  the  amount  the  people  make 
and  what  they  offer  for  the  worship  of  God,  that  in  the 
act  of  offering  it  their  thoughts  would  be  turned  to  God  as 
the  giver  of  "every  good  gift."  Thus  in  years  of  pros- 
perity, the  largeness  of  the  offering  would  remind  them  of 
the  bounty  of  God  to  them  and  prompt  them  to  gratitude, 
and  in  adversity  they  would  be  led  to  humiliation  and  self- 
examination. 

Now,  before  I  proceed  with  the  other  propositions, 
allow  me  to  pause  here  to  lay  emphasis  upon  the  desira- 
bility of  a  plan  embodying  these  features.  For  while  I 
still  feel  confident  that  you  will  concur  in  the  remaining 
propositions,  so  far  as  the  intellect  and  heart  and  conscience 
are  concerned,  observation  has  taught  me  that  there  are 
always  some  whose  minds  and  wills  part  company  at  this 
point.  Let  us  then  make  sure  of  so  much  as  we  have  thus 
far  gained.  It  is  not  right  and  it  is  not  wise  to  leave  such 
an  important  matter  as  the  support  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  to  mere  caprice  or  to  be  determined  by  the  amount 
of  small  change  people  may  happen  to  be  carrying  with 
them  when  a  collection  is  taken  up  on  Sunday.  No  other 
business  is  carried  on  without  some  systematic  provision 
and  forethought,  and  why  should  this  ?  Let  me  recom- 
mend some  such  method  as  this  :  Decide  first  of  all  that 
you  will  consecrate  to  God  a  definite  fraction  of  your  in- 
come. However  much  more  you  may  give,  resolve  not  to 
give  less  than  that  particular  fraction.  Whether  that 
fraction  be  one-fourth  of  one  per  cent. ,  or  one-half  of  one 
per  cent.,  one,  or  two,  or  five,  or  ten,  or  twenty  per  cent., 
whatever  it  be,  let  it  be  settled.  If  you  cannot  decide  in 
any  other  way  what  that  fraction  should  be,  I  would  sug- 
gest this  plan  :  Make  an  estimate  of  the  amount  of  money 
your  church  ought  to  raise  for  all  purposes,  and,  com- 
paring your  own  prosperity  with  that  of  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  make  a  just  estimate  of  what  part  you 
should  contribute  to  the  whole.     And  then  when  you  learn 

[105] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

what  fraction  of  your  income  that  is,  you  will  be  in  a  po- 
sition to  decide  intelligently  what  fraction  you  ought  to 
give  permanently.  Now,  if  a  methodical  procedure  like 
that  is  adopted,  it  will  result  in  your  having  some  money 
always  on  hand  for  religious  uses,  and  whenever  the 
proper  time  comes  you  will  not  need  to  have  the  deacons 
dun  you,  but  you  can  carry  your  offering  promptly  and 
gladly  and  hand  it  to  them.  By  all  means  let  some  intelli- 
gent, consecrated  method  be  substituted  fOT*  the  lax  and 
unsystematic  habits  that  prevail  with  so  many  Christians. 
We  often  hear  criticism  of  the  manner  in  which  the  church 
conducts  her  different  financial  operations.  Persons  ask 
"Why  doesn't  the  church  have  better  business  methods  in 
her  work  ?  "  If  improvement  is  needed  and  is  ever  to  be 
made,  it  ought  to  begin  among  the  private  members  of  the 
church.  They  ought  to  introduce  better  business  methods 
in  their  handling  of  their  money  for  God.  The  ministers 
who  generally  have  charge  of  these  financial  operations, 
put  into  practice  the  lessons  they  in  their  youth  have 
learned  as  members  of  our  various  congregations,  and  you 
cannot  expect  a  stream  to  rise  higher  than  its  source.  If 
it  be  true  that  there  is  any  lack  of  the  wisest  thrift  in  the 
management  of  our  home  and  foreign  missions  and  other 
great  enterprises  of  the  church,  the  best  way  to  effect  im- 
provement is  to  introduce  reform  into  the  fountain  heads, 
in  the  congregations.  Let  our  boys  who,  as  ministers  and 
elders,  will  have  the  control  of  these  enterprises  in  the 
future,  learn  to  do  God's  work  in  the  most  discreet  way 
by  seeing  good  business  methods  all  around  them  in  the 
way  God's  people  make  their  contributions  to  the  mainten- 
ance of  religion.  Let  me,  then,  urge  this  much  upon  your 
serious  attention,  even  if  we  cannot  go  hand  in  hand  to 
the  end  of  the  discussion. 

VI.  My  sixth  proposition  is  : 

At  one  time  in  the  history  of  the  world  a  system  of  re- 
ligious finances  was  in  operation  which  embodied  these  fea- 

[106] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH.   STAUNTON,  VA. 

tures.     It  was  instituted  by  divine  command,  and  it  is  the 
only  system  that  we  are  sure  God  ever  appointed. 

I  refer,  of  course,  to  the  tithe  law  of  the  Israelites. 
When  an  Israelite  received  the  product  of  his  labor,  of 
whatever  kind  it  might  be,  whether  grain  or  oil  or  wine 
or  lambs  or  whatever  else,  before  using  from  it  himself, 
he  set  aside  a  definite  fraction  of  it  for  the  worship  of 
God,  That  fraction  was  one-tenth  or  a  tithe.  That  tenth 
belonged  to  God.  It  was  consecrated;  it  was  holy.  "And 
all  the  tithe  of  the  land,  whether  of  the  seed  of  the  land 
or  the  fruit  of  the  tree,  is  the  Lord's;  it  is  holy  unto  the 
Lord.  And  if  a  man  will  at  all  redeem  aught  of  his  tithes, 
he  shall  add  thereto  the  fifth  part  thereof.  And  concern- 
ing the  tithe  of  the  herd  or  of  the  flock,  even  whatsoever 
passeth  under  the  rod,  the  tenth  shall  be  holy  unto  the 
Lord.  He  shall  not  search  whether  it  be  good  or  bad, 
neither  shall  he  charge  it."  (Lev.  xxvii,  30-32).  There 
was  also  set  apart  in  Israel  about  one-tenth  of  the  people 
(to  be  exact,  one  tribe  out  of  twelve,  the  tribe  of  Levi) 
whose  duty  it  was  to  do  all  the  official  acts  of  religion.  To 
these  Levites  God  gave  the  tithes  of  the  rest  of  Israel  for 
a  means  of  living.  They  had  no  inheritance  in  the  divis- 
ion of  the  land  and  their  living  came  from  these  tithes. 
(Num.  xviii,  24).  Here  then  is  a  system  of  religious 
revenues  that  God  appointed  at  one  time  and  it  bears  the 
stamp  of  God's  approval  as  a  just  and  wise  system.  It  is 
the  only  system  that  does  thus  bear  the  clear  and  un- 
questionable approval  of  God.  It  has  been  maintained 
that  God  has  withdrawn  that  system  and  substituted 
another  for  it,  but  there  is  at  least  a  doubt  or  question  as 
to  whether  He  has  done  so  or  not.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
He  at  one  time  ordained  the  tithe  law.  So  that  law  has 
the  distinction  of  being  the  only  system  of  religious 
finances  concerning  which  there  is  no  doubt  that  God  did 
appoint  and  approve  of.     I  shall  return  to  the  question  of 


[107] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

whether  or  not  He  has  supplanted  that  system  with 
another. 

There  are  some  popular  misconceptions  of  the  nature 
of  these  tithes.  1.  Some  have  understood  the  tithe  to  be  a 
tithe  of  one's  surplus  earnings.  I  have  had  right  wealthy 
men  to  tell  me  that  they  practiced  the  tithing  plan,  when 
I  knew  perfectly  well  that  they  did  not  do  so.  If  they  had 
tithed,  their  offerings  would  have  amounted  to  several 
hundred  dollars,  whereas  they  did  not  give,  at  the  most, 
more  than  $100.  They  were  not  telling  a  known  falsehood. 
They  simply  failed  to  understand  what  the  tithe  meant. 
They  thought  it  meant  a  tenth  of  the  surplus.  They  paid 
their  family  expenses,  improved  [their  homes,  decorated 
these  homes,  purchased  books  and  pictures,  indulged  in 
luxuries,  took  pleasure  trips,  gave  presents,  and  when 
they  had  spent  all  they  could  in  these  ways  and  had  a  few 
hundred  dollars  left  over,  they  gave  a  tenth  of  that  to  the 
Lord  and  then  imagined  that  they  were  tithing  as  the 
Israelites  did.  But  the  tenth  which  the  Israelite  gave  was 
not  a  tenth  of  his  net  profits  or  his  surplus,  but  of  his  un- 
used, undivided,  gross  income.  He  deducted  the  Lord's 
tenth  before  he  took  any  part  for  himself.  Of  course  it  is 
proper  to  deduct  the  business  expenses  or  those  expenses 
incurred  in  the  actual  making  of  the  income.  That  cannot 
be  fairly  reckoned  as  a  part  of  the  income  itself.  But 
while  the  business  expenses  are  deducted  the  personal  and 
family  expenses  ought  not  to  be. 

2.  It  has  sometimes  been  supposed  that  the  tithe  was 
exacted  for  both  religious  uses  and  civil  taxes,  because 
there  was  an  alliance  between  the  church  and  the  State  in 
Israel.  Acting  upon  that  theory,  some  men  claim  to  pay  a 
tenth  because  when  they  add  their  taxes  and  their  contri- 
butions to  religious  purposes  they  amount  to  a  tenth  of  their 
income.  Now  this  is  a  misconception  also.  Whatever  may 
have  been  the  relations  between  the  church  and  the  State 
under  the  old  dispensation,  their  revenues  were  kept  dis- 

L108] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

tinct.  The  tithes  were  assigned  to  the  Levites  as  their  Hving 
and  these  Levites  were  rehgious  and  not  civil  officers.  They 
were  not  numbered  among  the  soldiers,  they  had  no  in- 
heritance or  landed  property,  they  performed  no  offices  of 
a  civil  or  secular  government.  They  were  set  apart  for 
religious  duties.  All  the  duties  mentioned  as  proper  for 
them  were  of  a  religious  kind.  They  were  to  bear  the 
ark,  attend  upon  the  tabernacle,  minister  to  the  Lord  and 
bless  the  people.  On  the  other  hand  there  were  civil 
officers  distinct  from  these,  such  as  judges  and  kings. 
They  exacted  taxes  of  their  own.  The  great  quarrel  which 
the  ten  tribes  under  Jeroboam  had  with  Rehoboam  was  be- 
cause of  the  taxes.  They  demanded  that  Rehoboam 
should  reduce  the  taxes  his  father  Solomon  had  imposed 
and  he  would  not  do  so,  but  increased  them.  We  do  not 
read  of  their  appropriating  the  tithes  nor  sharing  their 
taxes  with  the  Levites.  Uzziah,  the  king,  was  stricken 
with  leprosy,  which  clung  to  him  throughout  life,  for  dis- 
regarding this  distinction  between  the  civil  and  religious 
officers  in  the  matter  of  offering  sacrifices.  The  tithe  then 
was  a  religious  tax,  and  he  does  not  tithe  in  the  Bible 
sense  who  divides  his  tenth  between  the  taxes  and  religious 
officers. 

3.  It  has  sometimes  been  supposed  that  when  the 
Israelites  paid  a  tenth  it  was  devoted  to  both  charities  and 
public  worship.  There  were  three  kinds  of  offerings  in 
Israel— tithes,  alms  and  free-will  offerings.  The  first  of 
these  was  compulsory  and  the  last  two  voluntary  as  to 
quantity.  '  'The  tenth  shall  be  holy  unto  the  Lord.  The 
tithe  is  the  Lord's."  It  did  not  in  any  sense  belong  to  the 
man  on  whose  place  it  was  made.  It  was  not  his  to  make 
charitable  offerings  out  of.  Suppose  you  own  a  farm  and 
you  put  a  tenant  on  it,  agreeing  to  give  him  one-half  of 
the  yield  for  the  other.  When  you  go  to  make  a  settle- 
ment with  him  at  the  end  of  the  year,  you  find  that  he 
has  a  large  share  and  has  assigned  you  a  small  one.  When 

[109] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

you  inquire  the  reason,  he  tells  you  that  he  has  been  help- 
ing the  poor  in  the  neighborhood  out  of  your  half,  and  that 
is  the  explanation  of  its  being  so  reduced.  I  think  you 
would  give  him  to  understand  that  hereafter  if  he  wished 
to  be  charitable  he  must  show  that  charity  out  of  his  half 
of  the  property,  and  if  you  wish  any  of  your  half  to  be 
spent  in  that  way  you  would  prefer  to  distribute  it  your- 
self. The  case  is  exactly  analogous  except  that  God  said 
to  the  Israelite,  "I  will  allow  you  nine-tenths  and  you  must 
reserve  me  one-tenth. ' '  If  the  Israehte  wanted  to  be  chari- 
table and  give  alms  he  must  do  it  out  of  his  nine-tenths 
and  leave  the  Lord's  tenth  alone.  That  was  God's  in  such 
a  special  sense  that  if  a  man  took  it,  it  would  be  stealing. 
That  is  the  very  language  God's  word  applies  to  it.  "Ye 
have  robbed  me,"  God  said  to  Israel.  They  replied: 
"Wherein  have  we  robbed  Thee?"  He  answered:  "In 
tithes  and  offerings. "  Wherever  else  of  the  tithe  law  may  or 
may  not  have  survived,  this  much  at  least  has.  What- 
ever is  contributed  for  religious  uses  is  contributed  to  the 
worship  of  God  and  not  as  a  charity.  The  minister,  for  in- 
stance, is  not  an  object  of  charity.  He  may  in  the  provi- 
dence of  God  become  an  object  of  charity.  He  may  be- 
come disabled  through  disease  or  injury,  and  may  not  have 
any  friends  to  whom  he  can  properly  look  for  assistance 
and  he  may  have  to  go  to  the  almshouse.  When  that  time 
comes  it  is  his  duty  to  go,  and  not  to  go  rebelliously,  but  go 
rejoicingly  as  to  the  new  sphere  in  which  God  permits  him 
to  labor  and  suffer  for  His  glory.  But  so  long  as  he  re- 
tains the  use  of  brain  and  muscle  sufficiently  to  earn  his 
own  living,  he  ought  to  scorn  a  charity  as  an  affront  to  his 
manhood  and  an  impeachment  of  his  integrity.  What  the 
Christian  people  contribute  to  the  support  of  religion  is 
the  tribute  they  pay  to  God,  and  when  they  have  paid  it  to 
Him  He  gives  it  to  the  minister,  as  He  formerly  gave  the 
Lord's  tenth  to  the  Levite. 


[110] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

VII.  There  are  those  who  claim  that  the  tithe  is  still 
binding,  and  they  present  a  strong  argument  in  support  of 
this  claim. 

1.  It  is  claimed  that  the  tithe  law  was  not  repealed 
along  with  the  other  regulations  belonging  to  the  Mosaic 
dispensation,  because  it  did  not  belong  specially  to  that 
dispensation,  but  it  existed  before  it.  Like  the  Sabbath 
law,  it  was  in  operation  before  the  Mosaic  law,  and  there- 
fore, like  the  Sabbath  law,  it  is  intended  to  continue  after 
the  Mosaic  law  is  repealed.  (I  once  asked  a  gentleman 
who  held  these  views,  why  it  was  that  the  tithe  law  was 
not  put  in  the  Ten  Commandments  just  as  the  Sabbath 
law  was,  if  it  was  intended  to  be  so  much  like  that  law. 
He  answered  :  "It  is  in  the  Ten  Commandments.  It  is 
represented  in  the  eighth  commandment  which  says, 
'Thou  shalt  not  steal,'  for  the  tithe  is  the  Lord's  and  it  is 
just  as  truly  stealing  to  take  what  belongs  to  God  as 
to  take  what  belongs  to  man."  I  throw  out  that  sugges- 
tion for  what  you  may  think  it  is  worth. )  Now  if  we 
ask  these  advocates  of  the  tithe  law  what  is  their  ground 
for  saying  that  there  was  any  tithe  law  before  the  time 
of  Moses,  they  cite  the  case  of  Abraham's  paying  tithes 
to  Melchisedec.  The  tenth  which  Abraham  paid  Mel- 
chisedec  was  not  a  voluntary  offering.  As  the  Greek 
word  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  Hebrews  shows,  Mel- 
chisedec "tithed"  or  exacted  tithes  of  Abraham,  showing 
that  there  was  a  law  or  a  divine  command  working  in  that 
case.  Another  instance  of  the  operation  of  the  tithe  law 
before  the  time  of  Moses  was  that  of  Jacob's  paying  a 
tithe.  Was  it  merely  by  accident  that  Jacob  decided  to 
offer  to  the  Lord  exactly  the  same  portion  which  God  had 
demanded  of  Abraham  and  which  was  afterwards  fixed  in 
the  law  of  Moses  ?  In  further  proof  of  the  statement  that 
the  tithe  law  did  not  belong  specially  to  the  Mosaic  law 
and  therefore  was  not  repealed  with  that  law,  they  refer 
us  to  the  fact  that  the  practice  of  tithing  was  not  confined 

[111] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

to  the  Israelites.  A  great  many  nations  practiced  it. 
Some  claim  that  the  practice  has  been  universal.  I  have 
never  been  able  to  verify  that  claim.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  prove  that  it  is  universal,  for  it  is  remarkable  if  it 
proves  to  be  general.  The  question  arises,  '  'How  did  so 
many  nations  get  the  idea  that  a  tenth  was  the  proportion 
of  the  income  which  they  ought  to  give  to  religious  pur- 
poses?" When  the  question  is  asked,  "How  did  the 
nations  get  the  idea  of  animal  sacrifices  ?  "  we  answer 
that  they  received  it  by  tradition  from  Adam.  Adam  was 
taught  to  shed  the  blood  of  animals  in  expiation  of  sin  and 
as  a  type  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  and  the  custom  was 
handed  down  from  father  to  son  till  it  prevailed  in  nearly 
all  nations.  If  this  is  a  satisfactory  account  of  the  pre- 
valence of  animal  sacrifices,  why  is  it  not  an  equally  satis- 
factory explanation  of  the  prevalence  of  tithing,  thus 
tracing  the  custom  back  to  a  probable  origin  in  Eden  ? 

Another  argument  by  which  they  seek  to  prove  that 
the  tithe  law  is  still  binding  upon  us  is  that  there  is  no 
sentence  in  the  New  Testament  expressly  repealing  that 
law,  and  if  it  is  repealed  no  other  plan  for  raising  money 
has  been  substituted  for  it.  It  has  sometimes  been  sup- 
posed that  the  law  was  formally  set  aside  and  a  new  one 
put  in  its  place  by  the  command  in  I  Cor.  xvi,  2:  "Upon 
the  first  day  of  the  week  let  every  one  of  you  lay  by  him 
in  store  as  God  hath  prospered  him."  It  is  very  hard  to 
see  how  this  language  can  be  regarded  as  opposed  to 
tithing.  Even  if  the  apostle  were  here  discussing  the 
raising  of  money  for  church  purposes,  the  language  ap- 
plies to  tithing.  If  you  make  a  thousand  dollars  and  give 
one  hundred  to  the  church,  and  I  make  five  hundred  and 
give  fifty,  we  are  giving  as  "God  hath  prospered  us." 
But  the  truth  is  the  apostle  is  not  discussing  the  raising 
of  money  for  the  church  at  all,  but  for  a  merely  charitable 
purpose,  as  will  be  seen  by  examining  the  first  and  the 
third  verses  of  the  chapter.     If  then  the  law  is  not  ex- 

[112] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 

pressly  repealed  and  no  other  has  been  put  in  its  place, 
what  right  have  we  to  say  that  it  is  not  in  force  to-day  ? 

3.  Another  argument  that  is  used  to  prove  that  tith- 
ing was  intended  to  continue  as  God's  plan  for  raising  the 
revenues  of  the  church  is  the  language  of  the  apostle  in 
I  Cor.  ix.  13-14  :  "  Do  ye  not  know  that  they  which  min- 
ister about  holy  things  live  of  the  things  of  the  temple? 
and  they  which  wait  at  the  altar  are  partakers  with  the 
altar?  Even  so  hath  the  Lord  ordained  that  they  which 
preach  the  Gospel  should  Hve  of  the  Gospel." 

Now  I  will  not  claim  that  such  arguments  prove  that 
the  tithe  is  still  binding.  I  promised  at  the  beginning  of 
the  discussion  that  I  would  not  lay  down  a  single  main 
proposition,  but  such  as  I  felt  sure  I  could  secure  your  ab- 
solute concurrence  in.  I  can  see  how  this  reasoning, 
strong  as  it  is,  may  fail  to  convince  you,  so  that  I  content 
myself  with  a  statement  of  the  position  without  claiming 
that  it  has  been  established.  But  if  I  am  not  prepared  to 
take  that  position,  I  am  prepared  to  take  a  safer  and  a 
stronger  one,  and  now  I  proceed  to  announce  my  eighth 
proposition  from  which  I  do  not  see  that  there  can  be  any 
escape. 

VIII.  Christians  should  not  he  satisfied  to  give  less 
than  a  tenth. 

1.  If  the  advocates  of  a  tithe  law  have  not  proved 
that  such  a  law  is  obligatory,  they  have  presented  an  ar- 
gument so  strong  that  no  one  can,  in  the  face  of  it,  assert 
that  the  tithe  law  has  been  repealed.  Such  is  the  state  of 
the  case  that  no  one  can  affirm  with  confidence  that  he 
knows  it  has  been  repealed.  And  if  there  is  any  uncer- 
tainty about  it,  we  dare  not  withhold  the  tenth  lest  we  rob 
God.  The  bare  doubts  as  to  whether  God  laid  a  special  claim 
to  that  tenth  or  permitted  me  to  use  it,  would  make  me 
afraid  to  touch  it,  just  as  I  would  have  been  afraid  to 
touch  the  ark  of  the  covenant  after  Uzziah  had  been 
stricken  dead  for  laying  his  hand  upon  it. 

[113] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

2.  Again,  either  the  law  has  been  repealed  or  it  has 
not.  If  it  has  not,  then  we  are  bound  to  give  the  tenth. 
If  it  has  been  repealed,  why  has  it  been?  Doubtless  in 
accordance  with  the  analogy  of  all  repeals,  it  has  been 
removed  to  make  way  for  something  larger.  The  Passover 
has  been  taken  away  to  make  room  for  the  Sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  Supper.  Bloody  sacrifices  have  been  abolished 
because  the  great  antitypical  bloody  sacrifice  has  come. 
The  temple  has  been  removed  that  Jehovah  might  fill  the 
earth  with  His  presence,  that  those  who  wish  to  worship 
Him  might  worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  So  if  the 
law  of  the  tenth  has  been  withdrawn,  it  is  doubtless  to 
prepare  for  larger  and  not  smaller  offerings. 

Everything  else  has  expanded  in  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation. The  sphere  of  worship  is  enlarged.  Formerly 
it  was  confined  within  the  narrow  limits  of  Palestine,  but 
now  national  boundaries  have  been  broken,  and  it  is  to  go 
into  all  the  earth.  The  motive  is  increased.  If  a  tenth 
was  a  fitting  tribute  of  worship  to  the  Jew,  who  knew  the 
Christ  only  through  the  obscurities  of  symbol  and  of 
prophecy,  what  should  be  the  measure  of  our  gratitude 
when  we  know  the  dying  love  and  tender  sympathies  of 
Jesus  and  the  gracious  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit? 

3.  The  appeal  becomes  even  stronger  yet  when  we 
contrast  ourselves  with  the  heathen.  The  Egyptians  paid 
tithes  to  the  worship  of  an  ox,  the  Greeks  and  Romans 
paid  tithes  to  the  worship  of  their  unclean  deities,  the 
Mormons  pay  tithes  to  support  their  infamous  religion, 
and  when  we  think  of  all  the  glories  that  invest  our  re- 
ligion, and  with  which  it  will  invest  us,  can  we  yield  prec- 
edence to  these  heathen  religions?  Blood-bought  servants 
of  Jesus,  shall  we  not  remove  this  dishonor  from  us  that 
when  all  restrictions  are  removed,  and  we  are  left  to 
choose  what  amount  we  shall  give  as  an  expression  of  our 
love  and  a  symbol  of  our  liberty,  we  give  less  than  the 
heathen  do? 

[114] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

At  three  different  times  I  have  made  a  special  study 
of  this  subject,  and  each  time  the  study  has  been  as  ex- 
haustive as  I  could  make  it.  Each  time  I  have  accompa- 
nied the  study  with  a  special  prayer  that  I  might  be 
guided  to  see  the  truth,  to  know  whether  this  law  has 
been  repealed  or  not.  I  have  asked  for  views  upon  that 
question  so  clear  that  I  might  not  only  know  how  to  act 
myself,  but,  as  a  public  teacher,  I  might  be  able  to  point 
out  the  path  of  duty  to  God's  people  and  say  to  them  con- 
fidently, "this  is  certainly  the  truth."  God  has  not  seen 
fit  to  answer  the  prayer  in  that  way,  but  he  has  answered 
it  in  a  better  way.  He  has  not  shown  me  certainly 
whether  the  law  is  binding  or  is  not,  but  instead  of  giving 
me  a  strong  probable  argument  on  one  side  or  the  other, 
he  has  enabled  me  to  plead  for  the  practice  of  tithing  by 
an  argument  that  is  to  my  mind  irrefragable.  The  rea- 
soning seems  to  me  so  compact  that  I  do  not  see  a  crevice 
in  which  the  point  of  a  needle  may  be  inserted. 

It  is  proper  at  this  point  to  allude  briefly  to  some  of 
the  common  practical  objections  to  tithing.  I  might  say 
in  general  that  all  the  objections  brought  against  the 
practice  of  tithing  in  this  day,  could  have  been  brought 
against  it  with  the  same  force  in  ancient  Israel. 

1.  There  are  some  who  say  :  "I  am  too  poor  to  pay  a 
tenth  of  my  income. ' '  But  they  are  not  really  poorer  than 
many  who  had  to  pay  tithes  in  Israel.  They  are  not  poorer 
than  the  laborers  who  "earned  a  penny  a  day,"  when 
Christ  was  on  earth. 

2.  Others  object  that  they  do  not  know  what  their  in- 
come is  and  so  cannot  give  a  tenth  of  it.  I  admit  that 
there  is  some  practical  difficulty  here,  and  there  are  differ- 
ent kinds  of  difficulties  in  different  kinds  of  business.  No 
general  rule  can  be  prescribed.  Each  man  will  have  to 
settle  this  question  for  himself  and  by  the  help  of  such 
information  as  his  account  books  give.  But  it  is  possible 
in  every  case,  by  a  close  study  of  the  situation,  to  reach  a 

[115] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

safe  working  estimate.  The  Jews,  no  doubt,  had  the  same 
sorts  of  difficulties  in  making  an  estimate  that  we  have. 
From  the  circle  of  my  own  acquaintance  I  recall  ministers, 
lawyers,  physicians,  merchants  and  farmers  who  have 
practiced  it.  It  has  been  suggested  that  if  the  case  were 
reversed  and  God  had  offered  to  add  a  tenth  to  our  income 
instead  of  subtracting  a  tenth  from  it  we  would  very 
readily  make  some  sort  of  satisfactory  estimate. 

3.  It  is  sometimes  objected  that  tithing  is  wrong  in 
principle,  since  it  creates  the  impression  that  only  a  tenth 
belongs  to  God,  whereas  all  that  we  have  is  His  and  all 
must  be  used  for  His  glory.  In  reply  to  this  objection,  I 
would  ask  if  it  is  not  true  that  God  owned  everything  that 
the  Israelites  owned  too  ?  And  yet  God  said,  '  'The  tithe 
is  the  Lord's."  That  tenth  was  the  Lord's  in  a  sense  in 
which  he  did  not  lay  claim  to  the  remainder.  That  tenth 
was  simply  a  tribute,  it  was  a  token  of  the  fact  that  God 
had  a  title  to  the  whole.  We  call  the  Sabbath  ''The  Lord's 
Day,"  but  we  do  not  mean  thereby  that  only  one  day  in 
the  week  is  the  Lord's.  That  day  is  specially  consecrated 
to  him  in  token  of  the  fact  that  he  owns  all  our  time. 
Now  the  question  for  us  as  Christians  is,  when  we  go  to 
consecrate  a  part  of  our  substance  to  the  Lord  as  an 
acknowledgment  that  He  has  a  right  to  it,  what  is  a 
proper  proportion  ?  Should  we  give  more  or  less  than  the 
Israelite  did  ? 

IX.  Tithing  brings  a  blessing  both  spiritual  and  ma- 
terial. 

I  need  hardly  discuss  the  spiritual  benefit  that  would 
accrue,  as  that  is  almost  self-evident.  Every  act  of  con- 
secration whether  of  ourselves  or  of  our  susbtance  is 
attended  with  spiritual  blessing.  The  remarkable  thing 
about  tithing  is  that  one  does  not  lose,  but  rather  gains  by 
it  financially.  If  it  had  been  desirable  to  do  so,  I  could 
have  occupied  the  whole  hour  I  have  been  speaking  with 
the  recital  of  the  cases  of  persons  who  have  been  blessed 

[116] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 

with  success  in  business  as  the  result  of  their  paying 
tithes.  The  first  case  I  met  with  in  my  own  experience 
was  that  of  a  gentleman,  75  years  of  age,  who  was  quite  a 
wealthy  man.  He  told  me  that  after  he  began  to  pay 
tithes  his  contributions  were  seven  or  eight  times  as  much 
as  they  had  ever  been  and  he  felt  the  loss  of  what  he  gave 
less  than  he  had  ever  done.  A  few  years  ago,  when  this 
subject  was  discussed  throughout  our  church,  a  minister 
wrote  a  number  of  postal  cards  to  eminent  ministers  in 
the  church  asking  their  opinion  of  the  practice  of  tithing. 
He  was  particularly  anxious  to  see  the  answer  of  a  vener- 
able minister,  who  was  reputed  to  have  made  a  great  deal 
of  money  during  his  hfe.  This  was  the  substance  of  the 
answer  he  received  ;  '  'For  several  years  after  I  entered 
the  ministry  I  had  a  hard  time.  I  received  a  small  salary 
and  found  it  very  hard  to  make  it  support  my  family.  At 
last  I  began  to  pay  a  tenth  of  my  salary  to  the  worship  of 
God.  I  then  began  to  feel  a  relief  from  the  strain  of 
poverty  and  even  to  accumulate  a  little.  As  this  re- 
lief and  success  came,  I  increased  my  contributions 
beyond  the  tenth,  and  the  more  I  gave  the  more  I 
made  until  now  I  am  considered  rich.  So  that  my 
experince  has  led  me  to  object  to  the  practice  of 
paying  one-tenth  to  the  Lord.  I  think  that  is  too  little." 
I  know  a  young  lawyer  in  the  Southwest  whose  friends 
once  asked  him  how  it  happened  that  he  always  gave  so 
readily  and  so  generously  to  every  religious  object  that 
was  presented  to  him.  They  could  not  understand  it  be- 
cause he  did  not  seem  to  have  any  better  clients  nor  any 
more  of  them  then  the  other  lawyers  in  the  town.  He  said : 
"Whenever  I  get  any  money  I  always  put  a  tenth  of  it 
into  a  box  by  itself.  So  when  I  am  asked  to  make  a  con- 
tribution there  is  always  plenty  of  money  to  do  it  with, 
and  it  does  not  hurt  me  to  give  it  because  the  money  is 
already  consecrated  to  the  Lord,  and  I  could  not  use  it  for 
any  other  purpose  anyhow."    A  gentleman  has  sent  out  a 

[117] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 

circular  to  thousands  of  people  in  this  country  advocating 
the  custom  of  tithing  and  challenging  the  production  of  a 
single  case  in  which  a  man  had  proven  a  failure  in  business 
Mrho  gave  a  tenth  of  his  income  to  the  w^orship  of  God. 
Though  that  challenge  had  been  standing  now  for  years 
and  the  circular  is  all  the  while  actively  sent  out  in  every 
direction,  not  one  such  case  has  ever  been  reported  to  the 
author.  Sometimes  it  has  been  reported  that  the  success 
of  such  persons  is  not  uniform  and  unbroken.  Sometimes 
they  meet  with  business  reverses,  such  as  will  come  to  the 
most  prosperous  men,  but  in  all  cases  they  recover  from 
their  embarrassments  and  start  again  at  once  on  the  up- 
ward grade.  If  the  rule  even  had  many  exceptions  it  would 
be  wonderful,  how  much  more  wonderful  when  it  has  no 
exception. 

It  would  be  wrong  in  me  not  to  give  you  the'benefit  of 
my  own  experience.  If  I  should  give  you  that  experience 
it  would  not  be  a  violation  of  the  Saviour's  command, 
"Let  not  thy  left  hand  know  what  thy  right  hand  doeth." 
That  commandment  refers  to  alms  and  not  to  what  is  paid 
to  the  worship  of  God,  which  was  a  public  act.  Every 
word  I  bring  you  this  morning,  I  bring  from  the  hotly  con- 
tested battle-ground  of  a  personal  experience.  I  come  to 
tell  you  of  victory,  but  a  victory  achieved  through  absolute 
surrender,  and  of  relief  from  financial  straits  brought 
about  by  giving  to  the  Lord  the  honor  due  to  him. 

Some  will  doubtless  say  that  this  is  an  appeal  to  a 
wrong  motive.  But  ought  we  to  characterize  it  in  this 
way  when  God  distinctly  appeals  to  this  motive  in  his 
Word  ?  He  makes  that  very  appeal  in  the  verse  which  I 
have  chosen  for  a  text  for  this  sermon.  "Honor  the  Lord 
with  thy  substance,  and  with  the  first  fruits  of  all  thine 
increase  :  so  shall  thy  barns  be  filled  with  plenty  and  thy 
presses  shall  burst  out  with  new  wine, ' '  Prov.  iii,  9.  '  'There 
is  that  scattereth  and  yet  increaseth  ;  and  there  is  that 
withholdeth  more  than  is  meet,  but  it  tendeth  to  poverty," 

[118J 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Prov.  xi,  24.  '  'Give  and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you  ;  good 
measure,  pressed  down,  and  shaken  together  and  running 
over,  shall  men  give  into  your  bosom,"  Luke,  vi.  38. 
"Bring  ye  all  the  tithes  into  the  store-house,  that  there 
may  be  meat  in  mine  house,  and  prove  me  now  herewith, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  if  I  will  not  open  you  the  windows 
of  heaven,  and  pour  you  out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall 
not  be  room  enough  to  receive  it,  Malachi  iii,  10. 

Now  I  have  concluded  what  I  proposed  to  say  on  this 
important  subject,  I  have  presented  the  subject  in  a 
series  of  nine  propositions  as  follows  : 

I.  In  order  that  the  church  may  do  the  work  which 
the  Lord  has  given  it  to  do,  it  must  have  money. 

II.  In  order  that  the  church  may  do  the  work  which 
the  Lord  has  given  it  to  do,  it  must  have  a  great  deal  of 
money. 

III.  The  church  of  to-day  has  money  enough  to  do  the 
work,  if  it  were  only  consecrated  to  that  end. 

IV.  The  church  has  not  properly  consecrated  its 
money  to  this  work. 

V.  A  desirable  plan  for  bringing  the  church  up  to  a 
proper  standard  of  consecration  will  embody  the  following 
features  : 

1.  It  will  result  in  a  sufficient  supply  of  money  to  do 
the  work. 

2.  It  will  distribute  the  burdens  of  church  support 
equitably  among  the  members. 

3.  It  will  work  with  the  smallest  possible  degree  of 
friction. 

4.  It  will  relieve  the  deacons  of  the  unscriptural  task 
of  collecting. 

5.  It  will  establish  a  community  of  interests  between 
a  pastor  and  his  congregation  and  draw  them  into  a  fuller 
sympathy  with  each  other. 

6.  It  will  promote  the  spirituality  of  the  church. 


[119] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

VI.  At  one  time  in  the  history  of  the  world  a  system 
of  rehgious  finances  was  in  operation  which  embodied  these 
features.  It  was  instituted  by  divine  command,  and  it  is 
the  only  system  that  we  are  sure  God  ever  appointed.  I 
refer,  of  course,  to  the  tithe  law  of  the  Israelites. 

VII.  There  are  those  who  claim  that  the  tithe  law  is 
still  binding,  and  they  present  a  strong  argument  in  sup- 
port of  this  claim. 

VIII.  Whether  this  argument  is  conclusive  or  not. 
Christians  should  not  be  satisfied  to  give  less  than  a  tenth. 

IX.  Tithing  brings  a  blessing  both  spiritual  and 
material. 

I  prefaced  these  propositions  with  the  statement  that 
I  would  not  announce  one  leading  proposition  to  which  I 
did  not  feel  sure  of  securing  your  assent.  I  thought  it 
would  serve  to  arouse  your  attention,  if  I  would  tell  you 
what  great  confidence  I  had  in  these  positions  and  in  the 
prospect  of  securing  your  concurrence  in  them.  Now 
have  I  fulfilled  the  opening  promise  and  are  we  fully  agreed 
as  to  the  truth  of  these  propositions  ?  If  you  believe  the 
positions  are  not  tenable,  I  do  not  ask  you  to  adopt  them. 
If  you  are  in  doubt  as  to  the  correctness  of  them,  the  sub- 
ject is  one  of  too  much  importance  to  every  interest  you 
hold  dear  for  you  to  rest  in  that  uncertainty.  You  owe  it 
to  your  temporal  welfare,  you  owe  it  to  your  spiritual  and 
eternal  interests,  you  owe  it  to  your  family  for  their  in- 
struction in  divine  things,  and  you  owe  it  to  the  church  you 
have  promised  to  serve,  to  remove  the  doubt  by  continu- 
ing to  investigate  the  subject  till  you  reach  a  satisfactory 
view  of  it.  But  suppose  you  do  not  occupy  either  of  these 
attitudes  toward  the  subject.  Suppose  that  instead  of 
having  any  doubt  on  the  question  and  instead  of  being 
convinced  that  I  am  mistaken  in  my  views,  you  are  fully 
persuaded  of  the  truth  of  every  one  of  these  nine  proposi- 
tions, permit  me  to  press  the  question,  '  'What  will  you  do 
about  it  ?  "    Will  the  opinions  so  formed  have  any  effect  on 

[120] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,    STAUNTON,  VA. 

the  life,  and  if  so,  wliat  will  that  effect  be  ?  From  an  ex- 
perience of  several  years  I  might  forecast  some  of  the  possi- 
ble results.  I  have  presented  these  views  before  a  congre- 
gation, where  some  in  it  who  had  been  my  very  warm 
personal  friends,  became  highly  incensed  and  left  the 
church  in  a  towering  passion,  manifesting  their  anger  in 
about  the  same  way  that  children  would  do  under  the 
circumstances.  While  that  is  about  the  silliest  way  to 
treat  the  matter,  it  is  not  always  the  most  barren  of  re- 
sults. Sometimes  a  little  warmth  of  resentment  like  that 
ends  in  a  complete  surrender  and  an  enthusiastic  discharge 
of  the  duty  that  had  caused  the  feeling.  So  in  that  case, 
while  these  friends  never  renewed  their  friendship  for  me 
with  the  same  ardor,  I  have  observed  with  great  delight 
their  increased  devotion  to  the  church  and  their  more 
liberal  support  of  all  its  enterprises.  I  can  always  be  re- 
signed to  the  sacrifice  of  a  personal  friendship  for  such 
results  as  these.  On  one  occassion,  when  I  had  preached 
about  these  things,  one  member  of  the  church  approached 
another  and  asked,  "What  are  we  going  to  do  about 
that?"  He  replied,  "That  was  a  good  sermon. "  "Ah! 
but,"  said  his  friend,  "What  are  we  going  to  do  about 
it?"  He  answered  again,  "That  was  a  good  sermon." 
Now  there  are  a  few  things  that  are  as  delicious  to  a  min- 
ister as  the  praises  of  the  people  of  God  when  they  are 
accompanied  with  evidence  of  their  increasing  love  for  the 
Master,  but  a  minister  should  not  want  any  praises  which 
he  cannot  lay  as  a  tribute  at  the  Master's  feet.  When 
the  applause  is  not  accompanied  by  a  renewed  consecration 
of  the  hearer,  it  is  a  dangerous  indication  and  one  which 
every  faithful  minister  must  deplore.  No  sermon  is  "a 
good  sermon"  except  in  the  light  of  its  results. 

Again,  there  are  those  who  plainly  say  that  they  are 
convinced  that  it  is  their  duty  to  pay  tithes,  but  who  flatly 
refuse  to  do  it.  One  Monday  morning,  succeeding  a 
Sabbath  on  which  I  had  preached  on  this  subject,  I  met  a 

[121] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

gentleman  on  the  street  who  had  been  in  the  congrega- 
tion. He  was  such  a  gentleman,  in  every  best  sense  of 
the  word  !  One  could  not  but  be  attracted  by  his  pleasant 
bearing  and  his  genuine  character.  He  came  out  of  his 
way  to  speak  to  me  and  to  refer  to  the  sermon.  He  con- 
cluded by  saying,  ' '  I  regard  the  argument  as  absolutely 
unanswerable,  and  all  that  I  can  say  is  that  we  do  not 
always  do  what  we  know  to  be  our  duty."  He  shook  my 
hand,  bowed  politely  and  passed  on.  I  thought  he  sighed. 
His  face  certainly  wore  an  expression  of  sadness.  Well 
he  might  be  sad!  There  are  not  many  things  fraught  with 
so  much  spiritual  disaster  as  the  deliberate  refusal  to  do  a 
known  duty.  Once  when  I  had  preached  on  this  subject 
to  a  congregation,  I  concluded  by  making  an  estimate  of 
the  funds  that  they  could  control  if  they  would  adopt 
these  suggestions.  I  showed  how  it  would  extricate  the 
church  from  its  embarrassment,  and  what  they  could  ac- 
complish for  the  Master  besides.  My  estimate  was  a  safe 
one  and  I  challenged  them  to  show  that  it  was  not.  Some 
of  the  best  business  men  in  the  congregation  met  casually 
that  week  and  they  concluded  to  review  my  figures  and 
they  unanimously  agreed  that  my  estimate  was  far  too 
small.  When  I  heard  it,  my  heart  leaped  with  expecta- 
tion, and  I  eagerly  asked  my  informant  what  they  were 
going  to  do  about  it.  He  answered  with  a  shrug  of  his 
shoulders,  "Nothing."  I  will  tell  you  what  the  subse- 
quent history  of  that  church  has  been,  and  leave  you  to 
judge  of  its  connection  with  that  incident.  From  that 
day  to  this,  the  financial  strength  of  that  church  has 
steadily  wasted  away.  Some  of  their  best  men  have  died, 
many  have  moved  away  and  some  who  were  left  and  most 
willing  to  help  it,  have  lost  their  property.  Now  it  is 
with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  they  can  supply  them- 
selves with  preaching  twice  a  month. 

When,  therefore,  I  stand  up  to-day  once  more  to  pro- 
claim the  truth  as  I  see  it,  I  realize  that  it  is  a  critical 

[122] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


time  in  the  spiritual  history  of  many  of  you.  I  feel  sure 
that  many  agree  with  me  fully,  and  they  are  then  brought 
face  to  face  with  what  is  to  them  a  clear  command  of  the 
Master,  and  if  they  deliberately  refuse  to  obey  that  com- 
mand, a  baneful  blight  may  settle  upon  their  lives,  such 
as  falls  upon  the  sinner  who  is  almost  persuaded  to  accept 
Christ  but  will  not  yield  and  who  lapses  into  a  deadly  indif- 
ference. When  the  children  of  Israel  stood  on  the  very 
border  of  the  promised  land  and  would  not  obey  God's  ■ 
command  to  enter  it  and  possess  it,  they  were  doomed  to 
their  forty  years  of  wandering  in  the  wilderness.  Every 
duty  is  a  privilege,  and  when  God  causes  us  to  stand  up 
before  a  duty  by  clearly  revealing  it  to  us,  it  is  like  stand- 
ing on  the  verge  of  a  new  Canaan  of  spiritual  happiness 
and  power  and  glory,  and  only  woe  and  wandering  can 
result  from  a  refusal  to  enter  in.  God  help  you  in  this 
critical  hour  and  save  you  from  such  a  mistake.  May  He 
kindly  lead  you  to  surrender  at  discretion  and,  gladly 
bowing  at  his  feet,  to  say,  "Lo!  I  come,  I  delight  to  do 
Thy  will.  Oh!  My  God." 

I  am  done.  I  am  grateful  for  the  patient  attention 
you  have  given  me  through  two  sermons  of  unusual  length. 
I  bring  this  offering  and  lay  it  at  the  Master's  feet  and 
pray  that  He  may  make  it  a  blessing  to  you.  "Bring  all 
your  tithes  into  the  store-house  and  try  me  now  herewith." 
See  if  I  will  not  make  you  grow  in  grace  and  knowledge. 
See  if  I  will  not  convert  your  sons  and  daughters.  See 
"If  I  will  not  open  you  the  windows  of  heaven,  and  pour 
you  out  a  blessing  that  there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to 
receive  it." 

THE  DOORS  THROWN  WIDE  OPEN,  INVITING  ALL  TO  COME; 
PEWS  DECLARED  ABSOLUTELY  FREE 

The  following  was  adopted  by  the  congregation  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  at  a  meeting  held  March 
4,  1894: 

[123] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

Voluntary  contributions  '  as  the  Lord  hath  pros- 
pered' is  the  literal  scriptural  mode.  If  each  gives  as  he 
thinks  right  as  between  him  and  the  Lord,  and  as  the 
Holy  Spirit  may  direct  him  in  answer  to  prayer  for  guid- 
ance, irrespective  of  what  his  neighbor  may  give,  we  shall 
doubtless  have  all  the  money  the  church  needs. 

The  Session  fully  recognizes  the  importance  of  having 
families  seated  together  in  public  worship,  and  therefore 
recommends  that  although  the  pews  shall  be  absolutely 
free,  families  continue  to  occupy  their  present  pews  (un- 
less more  desirable  ones  are  or  shall  become  vacant,  in 
which  case  the  first  family  applying  to  the  Deacons  will 
be  assigned  to  such  vacant  pew)  and  that  the  right  of 
family  occupancy  be  fully  recognized  among  members, 
but  that  the  ushers  shall  be  authorized  to  seat  strangers 
and  others  at  their  discretion." 

Receipts  from  pew  rents  for  the  year  ending 

March  31,  1894 $2,710  80 

Free-will  offerings  for  pastor's  salary  and  ex- 
penses during  the  year  ending  March  31, 
1895 , 4,236  72 

Increase  for  the  year  ending  March  31,  1895  .   .    $1,525  92 

During  the  year  ending  March  31,  1895,  $1,127.54  was 
applied  to  the  payment  of  the  church  debt  from  the  sur- 
plus from  contributions  for  pastor's  salary  and  current 
expenses. 

It  is  now  nearly  fifteen  years  since  the  change  went 
into  effect.  "More  money  for  current  expenses  of  the 
church  has  been  collected  within  that  time  than  was  ever 
collected  from  pew  rents  in  any  like  period  under  the  old 
plan.  But  better  than  that  there  has  been  literally  no 
friction  or  unpleasantness  in  collecting  money  and  best  of 
all  the  plan  is  RIGHT." 


[124] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 

THANKSGIVING   AT  THE   FIRST   PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH, 
SUNDAY,  JUNE  19,  1898. 

At  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  on  Sunday  morning 
June  19,  1898,  a  thanksgiving  service  was  held  to  com- 
memorate the  Hquidating  of  the  church  debt,  which  had 
been  hanging  over  the  church  for  twenty-six  years.  Rev. 
A.  M.  Eraser,  D.  D.,  the  pastor,  amidst  thunder  and 
hghtning  and  a  heavy  rain  storm  outside  that  almost  dark- 
ened the  inside  of  the  church,  preached  an  earnest  and 
thankful  sermon  from  a  passage  in  the  84th  Psalm  that 
will  never  be  forgotten  or  fail  to  be  appreciated  by  his 
hearers.  He  gave  a  short  sketch  of  the  church,  which  he 
interspersed  with  tender  references  to  the  sacrifices  and 
trials  of  the  members  of  the  church,  many  of  whom  have 
been  gathered  to  their  fathers,  and  all  of  whom  groaned 
under  the  burden  of  the  debt. 


Correction— The  two  sermons  by  Rev.  A.  M.  Eraser,  D.  D., 
subject:  "The  Worship  of  God  with  our  Substance,"  were  dehvered 
in  February,  1894,  and  not  in  February,  1904,  as  stated  on  page  84. 


[125] 


CHAPTER  XII 

MISS  MARY  JULIA  BALDWIN 

THE  Augusta  Female  Seminary  was  incorporated  by 
an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia,  passed 
January  30,  1845,  designating  as  trustees  thereof  the 
following  persons: 

Francis  McFarland,  James  Crawford,  William  Brown, 
Adam  Link,  John  McCue,  David  Fultz,  Addison  Waddell, 
Solomon  J.  Love,  J.  Marshall  McCue,  William  Frazier, 
Alexander  S.  Hall,  William  M.  Tate,  James  A.  Cochran, 
Benjamin  M.  Smith. 

By  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  passed  dur- 
ing the  session  of  1895-'96,  at  the  request  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  the  name  of  this  institution  was  changed  from 
Augusta  Female  Seminary  to  Mary  Baldwin  Seminary  as 
an  acknowledgment  of  their  high  appreciation  of  the  valua- 
ble services  and  unparalleled  success  of  the  principal  for 
thirty-four  years. 

Endowed  with  wonderful  business  talent,  fine  execu- 
tive ability,  and  clear  judgment  in  management,  she  has 
made  the  Seminary  one  of  the  foremost  institutions  in  the 
land  for  the  higher  education  of  women,  and  from  it  have 
gone  forth  many  noble,  brilliant  daughters  to  various 
spheres  of  usefulness  ;  some  to  labor  as  missionaries  in 
foreign  fields,  and  others  as  principals  of  educational 
institutions.  The  Seminary  now  stands  a  great  monument 
to  her  untiring  energy,  arduous  labors,  devotion  to  her 
profession,  and  the  Master's  work.  Si  monumentum 
quaeris  circumspice. 

The  estimate  of  Miss  Baldwin  by  the  Trustees  of  Mary 
Baldwin  Seminary  is  set  forth  in  the  following  Memorial 

[126] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

prepared  by  Judge  Grattan,  and  adopted  at  the  first  meet- 
ing of  the  Board  after  her  death: 

"After  nearly  half  a  century  of  earnest,  faithful  and 
successful  labor,  Mary  Julia  Baldwin  passed  to  her  rest  at 
8  a.  m.  July  1,  1897,  in  the  68th  year  of  her  age. 

"The  time  of  her  departure  was  appropriate.  The  fields 
around  her  native  city  were  yellow  with  the  golden  harvest, 
the  orchards  of  her  loved  Valley  laden  with  ripening  fruit. 
The  flowers  in  every  yard  and  garden  exhaled  incense. 
A  fitting  time  for  this  faithful  life  to  end,  for  this  mortal 
to  put  on  immortality,  for  this  tired  reaper  to  lay  down  her 
well-used  sickle  and  take  up  her  golden  harp. 

"She  was  the  daughter  of  Dr.  William  D,  Baldwin  and 
Margaret  L.  Sowers.  Left  an  orphan  in  her  seventeenth 
year  she  was  reared  by  her  maternal  grandparents,  John 
C.  Sowers  and  his  wife,  and  while  she  was  the  recipient 
of  all  the  care  and  love  that  could  be  bestowed  upon  her 
by  these  good  people,  she  must  have  sadly  missed  a 
mother's  tenderness  and  pined  for  a  mother's  love.  May 
we  not  see  the  hand  of  a  wise  Providence  in  this,  which 
fitted  her  so  well  to  fill  the  place  of  mother  and  guide  and 
friend  to  the  lonely  girls  who  left  their  happy  homes  to 
come  to  her  ?  She  knew  the  sorrows  of  their  hearts  and 
how  to  win  them  to  love  and  truth.  Is  there  one  of  them 
in  this  fair  land  upon  whose  ear  this  mournful  news  shall 
fall,  who  will  not  feel  a  mother's  loss  in  her  ?  Unmarried 
and  childless  she  passed  away,  and  yet  in  all  the  borders 
of  this  Southland  her  daughters  will  rise  up  and  call  her 
blessed. 

"She  was  educated  at  the  Augusta  Female  Seminary, 
then  in  charge  of  the  Rev.  Rufus  W.  Bailey  and  her 
whole  life  was  spent  in  the  city  of  her  birth.  Modest  and 
retiring,  it  was  with  diflSculty  she  was  induced  to  under- 
take, in  conjunction  with  Miss  Agnes  McClung,  the  con- 
duct of  the  Seminary  in  1863;  but  having  entered  upon 
her  duties  all  doubts  vanished  and  these  two,  complements 

[127] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

of  each  other,  moved  on  from  adventure  to  success. 
Since  1880  she  had  the  sole  conduct  of  the  school,  now  in 
honor  of  her  named,  by  act  of  the  Legislature,  Mary  Bald- 
win Seminary. 

"It  is  difficult  to  analyze  the  character  of  one  so  well 
rounded.  She  was  modest  without  timidity,  tender  with- 
out effusion,  firm  without  severity,  kind  but  true,  her 
justice  was  nice  and  discriminating  and  so  tempered  with 
mercy  as  to  lose  its  sting.  Her  judgment  was  clear;  her 
convictions  strong;  her  faith  firm;  her  will  determined. 
She  never  strayed  from  the  paths  of  duty  to  walk  in  ways 
of  pleasure,  but  flowers  sprang  under  her  feet  and  bless- 
ings attended  her  progress.  Her  great  generosity  was 
without  ostentation,  guided  by  wisdom,  and  neither  bound- 
ed by  sect  nor  continent.  She  loved  her  friends  without 
dissimulation  and  never  had  an  enemy.  She  was  often- 
times bold  to  audacity  in  the  conduct  of  her  school,  but 
the  secret  spring  of  her  conduct  was  an  unfaltering  faith 
in  her  Heavenly  Father  and  the  efficacy  of  fervent  prayer. 
An  atmosphere  of  purity  and  holiness  seemed  to  surround 
her,  which  repelled  the  coarser  things  of  the  world,  while 
it  mellowed  and  fathomed  the  higher  and  more  refined. 

"Her  place  in  the  hearts  of  this  people  will  never  be 
filled. 

She  scattered  bounty  o'er  a  naked  land 

And  read  her  history  in  its  grateful  eyes. 
Servant  of  God,  well  done. 

By  the  will  of  Miss  Mary  Julia  Baldwin,  which  was 
recorded  in  the  Corporation  Clerk's  office  of  this  city  on 
July  8,  1897,  it  is  recited  that  the  late  Miss  Agnes  R. 
McClung  having  by  will  given  her  interest  of  one-third  in 
two  pieces  of  ground,  purchased  from  the  estate  of  the 
late  Judge  L.  P.  Thompson,  to  the  trustees  of  Augusta 
Female  Seminary  to  take  effect  at  the  death  of  Miss  Bald- 
win, she.  Miss  Mary  J.  Baldwin,  devises  her  interest  of 
two-thirds  in  said  property  to  the  Trustees  of  said  Augusta 

[128] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 

Female  Seminary;  also  that  property  known  as  "Hill-Top," 
as  well  as  the  personal  property  belonging  to  her  and 
in  carrying  on  said  Seminary,  such  as  furniture,  musical 
instruments,  apparatus,  books,  etc. 

After  the  payment  of  sundry  legacies  to  friends  and 
the  bequest  of  $3,000  to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  and 
of  $2,000  to  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church;  of  $10,000 
to  Foreign  Missions  and  $5,000  to  Domestic  Missions,  and 
a  clause  providing  that  the  daughters  of  the  succes- 
sive pastors  of  the  First  and  Second  Presbyterian  Churches 
of  Staunton  be  instructed  free  of  charge  by  said  Seminary 
in  all  branches  of  education  and  accomplishment  taught 
therein,  she  gave  all  other  property  belonging  to  her,  both 
real  and  personal,  to  the  Trustees  of  said  Augusta  Female 
Seminary. 

UNVEILING  OF  THE  MARY  BALDWIN  MEMORIAL  WINDOW 

The  following  address  was  delivered  by  Rev.  A.  M. 
Eraser,  D.  D.,  on  the  occasion  of  the  unveiling  of  the  Mary 
Baldwin  Memorial  Window  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Mary 
Baldwin  Seminary,  May  24,  1901: 

REV.    DR.    eraser's   ADDRESS 

On  behalf  of  the  Mary  Baldwin  Seminary,  its  trustees,  its 
officers,  its  teachers,  its  pupils,  its  employees,  every  one  of  whom  has 
a  proprietary  interest  in  the  memory  of  Miss  Baldwin,  I  accept  this 
window  which  has  been  placed  here  as  a  memorial  of  the  honored 
woman  for  whom  the  school  is  named.  On  behalf  of  the  City  of 
Staunton,  which  feels  a  maternal  pride  in  her  most  distinguished 
daughter,  I  accept  this  tribute  from  the  alumnae,  a  noble  band  of 
matrons  and  young  women,  scattered  abroad  throughout  the  United 
States  and  in  foreign  lands,  makers  of  homes,  of  communities,  of 
churches,  and  missionaries  of  the  cross  on  the  frontiers  of  civilization, 
who  themselves  have  been  molded  by  the  gentle  but  powerful 
influence  of  this  great,  modest  spirit. 

We  receive  the  window  as  a  monument,  that  will  not  allow  to 
perish  the  memory  of  our  benefactor  and  friend.  When  the  Israelites 
passed  dry  shod  over  the  river  Jordan,  they  erected  on  the  other  side 
a'  monumental  pile    of    the    stones     they    had    gathered  in  the    dry 

[129] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


bed  of  the  river,  that  in  the  years  to  come  when  their  children  should 
ask,  "What  mean  ye  by  these  stones?"  they  might  answer,  "This 
Jordan  was  cut  off  before  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord."  As 
successive  classes  of  young  ladies  come  into  this  institution  and  ask, 
"Why  is  it  called  the  Mary  Baldwin  Seminary?"  they  will  be  told 
it  was  named  for  the  woman  whose  genius  made  its  walls  to  rise  and 
whose  philanthropy  gave  it  a  permanent  endowment.  But  when  they 
enter  this  chapel  and  see  that  window,  they  will  know  without  being 
told  not  only  that  Miss  Baldwin  was  great  and  good,  but  also  that 
there  was  a  grace  and  a  charm  in  her  life,  because  her  pupils  loved 
her  and  they  have  risen  up  to  "call  her  blessed." 

If  you  will  turn  with  me  for  a  while  and  study  the  details  of  the 
design  of  the  window  you  will  see,  what  the  excellent  poem  just  read 
has  already  led  you  to  anticipate,  how  fittingly  the  ornamental 
execution  makes  it  serve  the  purpose  of  a  memorial. 

The  pretty  device  at  the  top  is  an  emblem  in  heraldry.  It  is  the 
coat  of  arms  of  the  Baldwin  family.  It  was  not  by  accident  that  Miss 
Baldwin  was  a  rare  woman.  She  was  a  descendant  of  that  family, 
honorable  in  history  and  all  of  its  associations,  whose  unsullied  name 
she  bore.  Lower  down  in  the  design  we  see  a  spray  of  flowers  on 
either  hand,  roses  on  the  left  and  lillies  on  the  right.  These  flowers 
are  the  emblems  respectively  of  the  royal  houses  of  England  and 
France.  I  am  told  they  are  put  here  to  perpetuate  the  information 
that  Miss  Baldwin,  like  Queen  Victoria  herself,  was  descended  from 
both  Alfred  the  Great  and  William  the  Norman.  Lower  down  still, 
on  the  stem  of  the  torch  of  knowledge  and  near  its  base,  is  the  device 
of  a  spinning  wheel.  That  is  the  official  seal  of  the  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution.  Near  ancestors  of  Miss  Baldwin  were  among 
the  heroes  of  that  struggle  for  the  independence  of  America.  She 
felt  great  pride  in  that  fact  and  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  Daughters 
of  the  Revolution.  For  these  reasons  that  official  seal  has  been  given 
a  place  in  the  design.  Clear  perception,  a  strong  grasp  of  facts,  lofty 
purpose,  bold  enterprise,  daring  execution,  tireless  energy,  purity  of 
heart,  honesty  of  mind,  unselfish  benevolence,  exquisite  modesty, 
profound  and  simple  piety  were  some  of  the  traits  which  she  gleaned 
from  all  the  generations  of  her  people  who  had  gone  before  her  on 
both  sides  of  the  house,  and  bound  them  in  the  single  sheaf  of  her 
own  character. 

Consider  also  the  torch  of  knowledge  which  is  so  prominent  in  the 
foreground.  For  thirty-four  years  she  held  the  torch  of  knowledge 
in  her  hand  in  this  institution.     The  Seminary  was  her  torch  of  knowl- 


[130] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


edge.  How  brightly  it  shone,  and  how  far,  and  how  long  its  rays  will 
linger  and  illumine  and  bless,  the  alumnje  themselves  are  the  best 
testimonial. 

But  mere  secular  learning  was  no  object  with  Miss  Baldwin  and 
it  was  no  concern  of  her  heart.  Knowledge  transfused  with  the  grace 
of  religion  and  sanctified  by  it  was  the  consuming  zeal  of  her  life. 
Long  after  money  ceased  to  be  a  consideration  with  her,  long  after 
she  discontinued  the  active  work  of  instruction,  long  after  she  was 
compelled  by  failing  health  to  relinquish  the  reins  of  administration, 
she  held  on  to  the  school  with  a  marvellous  tenacity,  in  order  that 
she  might  gather  young  girls  about  her  and  by  the  influence  of  her 
person  and  by  her  prayers  might  win  them  for  Jesus  Christ  and  for 
the  service  of  religion.  It  was,  therefore,  a  happy  thought  to  spread 
against  the  stem  of  that  torch  of  knowledge  and  make  the  central 
object  in  the  whole  design,  an  open  Bible,  inscribing  upon  its  pages 
those  words  from  the  Latin  version  IJoiniiius  iUuminatio  mea,  "The 
Lord  is  my  light. "  For  her,  there  was  no  light  in  any  knowledge  if  it 
was  not  according  to  this  light. 

Next,  inscribed  upon  a  scroll  comes  the  name  Mary  Julia  Bald- 
win, a  name  which  in  this  community,  at  least,  we  believe  will  be 
immortal. 

Following  the  names  are  the  dates  of  her  birth  and  death.  It  is  a 
singular  fact  that  while  Miss  Baldwin's  life  was  a  long  one,  just  one 
half  of  it  was  spent  in  comparative  obscurity  and  inactivity,  and  her 
special  gifts  were  not  suspected  by  herself  or  any  one  else.  We  often 
hear  one  say,  "I  am  of  no  use  in  the  world."  Miss  Baldwin's  life  was  a 
complete  refutation  of  that  error.  At  the  age  of  thirty-four  she 
might  have  said  with  as  much  reason  as  most  people  who  say  it,  "I 
am  of  no  use  in  the  world. ' '  And  yet  all  unknown  to  her  there  lay 
before  her  and  opened  to  her  a  career  of  extraordinary  usefulness  and 
renown.  Truly  "We  know  not  what  a  day  may  bring  forth,"  and 
truly  "There  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men  which  taken  at  the  flood 
leads  on  to  fortune." 

At  the  foot  of  the  window  is  the  modest  recital  that  this  window 
is  "Erected  by  the  Alumnae  Association."  It  is  that  fact  which  lends 
its  peculiar  value  to  the  tribute.  It  would  not  be  the  high  enconium 
that  it  is  if  it  had  been  erected  by  any  other  hands.  While  it  speaks 
most  eloquently  of  Miss  Baldwin's  worth,  it  speaks  no  less  eloquently, 
though  unconsciously,  of  that  of  the  alumnae.  It  is  because  the 
alumnse  are  what  they  are  that  we  hold  our  high  opinion  of  Miss 
Baldwin  who  made  them  what  they  are.  It  is  because  they  appre- 
ciate her  that  we  know  them  to  be  what  they  are.     So  in  receiving 

[131] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,    VA. 


this  memorial  window  at  your  hands  we  dedicate  it  to  the  double  office 
of  commemorating  at  once  the  virtues  of  the  great  teacher  and  those 
of  her  pupils. 

Once  more,  may  I  direct  your  attention  to  the  two  substan- 
tial columns  flanking  the  design  on  either  hand.  May  they  not  serve 
to  suggest  the  two  pillars  on  which  rests  the  whole  fabric  of  Miss 
Baldwin's  work:  her  moral  character  and  her  intellectual  ability. 

The  Good  Book  says,  "The  righteous  shall  be  held  in  everlasting 
remembrance."  It  is  for  God  alone  to  make  the  remembrance  of  the 
righteous  "everlasting,"  we  are  doing  what  we  can  to-day  to  make  it 
at  least  lasting.  How  long  will  this  window  last  ?  Shall  it  be  fifty 
years,  a  hundred  years,  five  hundred,  a  thousand  years  ?  I  pledge  you 
that  we  shall  take  it  into  sacred  keeping  and  resolve  that  it  shall  out- 
last everything  else  in  this  school  except  its  name.  If  by  the  wear 
and  tear  of  time,  these  walls,  which  have  already  stood  for  nearly  a 
hundred  years,  should  fall  and  it  should  become  necessary  to  build 
another  chapel,  we  would  build  it  to  fit  that  window.  If  by  the  pro- 
gress of  invention  the  houses  we  now  use  should  become  as  antiquated 
as  cave  dwellings  are  compared  with  them,  the  problem  for  the  future  , 
architect  will  be  to  build  his  structure  in  harmony  with  this  graceful 
relic.  If  by  the  further  progress  of  invention,  houses  may  be  dispensed 
with  and  architecture  itself  become  a  relic  or  a  lost  art,  the  genius 
which  works  this  transformation  in  the  modes  of  human  living  must 
also  devise  some  way  to  preserve  what  is  dear  to  human  sentiment 
and  make  some  casket  for  this  jewel,  for  what  this  woman  hath  done 
must  be  told  for  a  memorial  of  her. 

Again  we  receive  the  window  as  a  suggestion— the  inauguration 
of  a  movement,  the  first  of  a  group  of  monuments.  Already  the 
happy  thought  has  taken  root  of  erecting  another  here  in  honor  of 
the  full  graduates  of  the  Seminary.  I  believe  I  am  in  a  position  to  say 
that  when  a  young  woman  has  mastered  the  university  course  in  this 
institution  and  has  enrolled  herself  among  the  full  graduates,  she 
deserves  a  monument  of  her  own  for  the  capacity  and  the  indomitable 
perseverance  and  courage  she  has  shown  in  that  achievement. 

We  shall  also  want  a  window  that  in  a  pecular  sense  shall  be  the 
companion  of  this  one,  a  memorial  of  Miss  Agnes  McClung,  whose 
lofty  character  and  wide  acquaintance  contributed  dignity  and  fame 
to  the  undertaking  at  the  outset,  whose  sanctified  wisdom  helped  to 
build  the  school,  whose  motherly  influence  and  sympathy  radiated  to 
the  whole  circle  of  girls  that  gathered  about  her  and  who  at  her  death 
bequeathed  her  earnings  to  the  endowment. 

We  should  also  perpetuate  the  name  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Baily  who 
first  conceived  the  thought  of  founding  the  school,   to  whose  judicious 

[132] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


and  faithful  labors  we  owe  the  inception  of  it,  and  of  whom  we  have 
now  no  other  memorial  than  the  portrait  which  adorns  the  parlor  walls. 

Speaking  of  our  debts  of  gratitude  suggests  that  there  are  some 
words  which  should  be  spoken  of  the  distinguished  gentleman  who  so 
ably  and  touchingly  presented  this  window  to  us  on  behalf  of  the 
alumnge.  We  feel  to-day  more  than  ever  before  how  much  we  owe 
Miss  Mary  Julia  Baldwin  and  the  Mary  Baldwin  Seminary  to  the 
sagacity  of  Mr.  Waddell.  He  was  one  of  those  who  rocked  the  cradle 
of  the  Seminary  in  its  infancy,  for  he  was  one  of  Mr.  Baily's 
co-laborers  and  one  of  the  first  contributors  to  the  foundation.  It 
was  his  penetration  that  first  discovered  Miss  Baldwin's  fitness  for 
the  responsible  position  of  principal.  What  though  he  was  not  at  first 
aware  of  the  full  value  of  his  discovery  ;  what  though  he  mistook  for 
only  an  unusual  order  of  talent  what  afterwards  proved  to  be  no 
mean  order  of  genius,  it  was  he  who  made  the  suggestion  that  she  be 
called  to  this  great  trust.  From  that  time  to  the  day  of  her  death,  he 
was  her  chosen,  intimate  and  trusted  adviser.  It  is  true  she  did  not 
always  follow  his  advice,  but  it  is  true  that  she  almost  always  did. 
And  when  she  did  not  follow  his  advice,  she  always  respected  it  and 
always  used  it  in  forming  her  own  opinions.  He  could  not  always 
restrain  what  he  often  thought  was  her  too  daring  enterprise,  but 
many  a  time  did  he  save  her  from  the  opposite  extreme  of  despondency 
to  which  her  temperament  rendered  her  peculiarly  Hable.  The  result  is 
that  to-day  the  impress  of  his  judgment  and  his  loving  heart  is  seen  on 
everything  connected  with  this  institution. 

And  now  on  this  occasion  he  has  added  the  crown  to  all  his  long 
services  by  the  admirable  address  with  which  he  has  presented  this 
memorial  window.  Without  the  slightest  jealousy  of  the  fame  of  his 
great  protege,  without  extravagant  pride  in  his  great  discovery,  with 
a  glowing  admiration,  with  the  moderation  of  truth,  with  the  accuracy 
of  the  trained  historian,  and  with  the  skill  of  an  artist  he  has  placed 
before  us  a  pen  picture  of  Miss  Baldwin,  in  lieu  of  any  photograph  or 
any  portrait  by  the  artist's  brush.  I  feel  that  the  sentiment  of  the 
Seminary  will  not  be  fully  gratified  and  our  minster  abbey  will  not  be 
complete  in  its  array  of  monuments  till  loving  and  reverential  hands 
shall  have  placed  somewhere  in  this  chapel  an  imperishable  memorial 
to  Mr.  Joseph  Addison  Waddell. 

If  I  may  for  a  few  moments  rob  him  of  his  office  as  the  represen- 
tative of  the  alumnas  and  presume  to  speak  for  both  them  and  the 
Seminary,  I  would  say  that  every  heart  craves  for  him  the  most  gra- 
cious benedictions  of  God.  We  pray  that  he  may  live  many  years  to 
love  this  school  and  labor  for  it  and  pray  for  it,   that  his  remaining 

[133] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

years  may  be  the  happiest  and  most  fruitful  of  his  life  and  that  there 
may  be  light  for  him  at  the  eventide. 

Once  more  and  briefly  we  receive  the  window  as  an  education  and 
an  inspiration.  It  is  said  that  in  those  cities  of  the  old  world  where  are 
gathered  the  most  numerous  and  the  best  specimens  of  art  in  museums 
and  galleries  and  exposed  in  open  parks  and  market  places,  the  people 
themselves  who  live  in  the  constant  contemplation  of  these  ideals  of 
beauty,  at  length  conform  themselves  to  the  models  in  face  and  figure. 
So  we  have  placed  here  in  this  room,  that  is  used  as  both  a  chapel  and 
a  study  hall,  this  object  which  gathers  into  itself  all  that  is  romantic 
in  chivalry,  all  that  is  inspiring  in  history,  all  that  is  refining  in  educa- 
tion and  all  that  is  saving  and  ennobling  in  religion  as  these  were 
represented  in  the  person  of  Miss  Baldwin.  As  the  young  ladies  shall 
pursue  their  studies  and  conduct  their  worship  in  the  presence  of  it, 
we  shall  trust  that  they  will  gradually  be  molded  to  the  image  unto 
which  she  attained  and  that  each  in  her  own  measure  may  reflect  the 
character  of  Miss  Baldwin  as  every  dew  drop  reflects  the  whole  image 
of  the  sun. 

On  behalf  of  the  Seminary,  then,  I  accept  this  memorial  presented 
by  the  alumnae,  and  I  tender  to  them  our  congratulations  upon  the 
completion  of  this  noble  undertaking  and  our  thanks  for  their  costly 
and  exquisite  contribution  to  the  adornment  of  this  hall. 

Staunton,   Va.,  May  '24,  1901. 


[134] 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE   REV.    JAMES  A.    QUARLES,    D.    D.,    LL.    D. 

DR.  QUARLES,  whose  sermon  follows,  was  born  in 
Cooper  County,  Missouri,  April  30,  1837.  He  was 
educated  at  Westminster  College,  in  Missouri,  the 
University  of  Virginia,  and  Princeton  Theological  Semi- 
nary. After  serving  as  pastor  of  churches  in  Lexington 
and  Saint  Louis,  Mo.,  he  became  president  of  Elizabeth 
Aull  Seminary,  at  Lexington,  Mo.  In  1886  he  was  elected 
Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  Washington  and  Lee 
University,  at  Lexington,  Va.,  which  position  he  continued 
to  hold  until  his  death,  in  1907. 

During  these  last  twenty  years,  in  which  he  lived 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of  Lexington,  there 
were  few  ministers  in  it  who  preached  in  as  many  of  its 
churches  or  had  as  wide  an  acquaintance  with  its  member- 
ship as  Dr.  Quarles.  There  were  few  if  any  more  widely 
and  greatly  loved  and  whose  preaching  was  so  much 
enjoyed.  He  took  great  delight  in  thus  serving  the 
churches  and  mingling  with  the  people.  It  was  quite 
common  for  him  to  walk  to  his  appointments,  even  when 
they  were  many  miles  distant.  He  was  a  man  of  scholar- 
ship and  extensive  reading,  and  genial  and  affectionate  in 
disposition,  and  always  preached  interestingly  and  with 
unction. 

It  is  eminently  proper  that  a  sermon  from  Dr.  Quarles 
should  have  a  place  in  this  memorial  volume.  He  supplied 
the  pulpit  of  the  First  Church  very  frequently,  and 
no  where  was  he  more  beloved  or  his  preaching  more  highly 
appreciated  than  here.  The  particular  sermon  inserted 
here  is  a  fair  specimen  of  his  preaching  and  gives  a  cor- 

[135] 


Rev.  James  A.  Quarles,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 

rect  idea  of  his  style.  It  is  thoroughly  characteristic  of 
the  man,  who  was  himself  so  deeply  imbued  with  the  love 
of  which  it  discourses  and  who  was  so  lovable.  It  is  also 
interesting  because  it  is  the  last  sermon  he  ever  preached 
for  us. 

"GodisLove."-IJohn  VIII:  4-16.* 

I  hesitate  to  deliver  the  message  with  which  I  am 
charged  to-night;  not  that  there  is  aught  in  it  that  is  dis- 
agreeable to  the  speaker,  or  that  will  prove  unwelcome  to 
the  hearer.  I  shrink  because  these  lips  are  unworthy 
bearers  of  the  message  and  tremble  with  diffidence  as 
they  undertake  to  utter  it.  No  painter  has  ever  yet 
attempted  to  put  the  sun  upon  the  canvas;  the  pigments 
are  not  to  be  found  on  earth  that  can  display  its  glory,  nor 
the  eye  with  strength  to  gaze  upon  its  dazzling  radiance. 
There  are  some  thoughts  which  you  master,  that  are  like 
the  sapling,  which  you  can  encircle  with  the  grasp  of  your 
hand.  There  are  other  thoughts  which  master  you,  that 
are  like  the  giant  redwood  of  California,  which  you  vainly 
try  to  encompass  with  the  widest  embrace  of  your  arms. 
Some  are  foothills  which  you  easily  climb;  others  are  Mt. 
Everest  in  the  Himalayas,  whose  summit  no  human  foot 
has  trodden ;  at  whose  base  one  pauses  in  reverent  admira- 
tion. Sir  Henry  Drummond  has  written  on  what  he  calls 
"  The  greatest  thing  on  earth  ";  to-night  we  are  to  con- 
sider that  which  is  not  only  the  greatest  thing  on  earth, 
but  also  the  greatest  thing  in  heaven. 

When  the  command  came  from  the  Master,  whose 
servant  I  am,  that  I  should  bear  this  message  to  you,  I 
looked  into  His  revealed  Word  to  find  that  expression  of  it 
which  seemed  most  richly  freighted  with  the  truth,  so 
that  the  text  might  be  a  sermon  in  itself,  and  leave 
nothing  for  the  speaker  beyond  its  simple,  loving  utter- 


*Sermon  preached  extemporaneously  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Staunton, 
Va.,  Sunday  evening,  March  22,  1903  ;  and  written  out  since  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Arista 
Hoge,  Deacon  and  Treasurer  of  the  Church. 

[137] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

ance.  I  opened  the  Book,  and,  turning  over  its  pages, 
from  cover  to  cover,  I  found  them  luminous  with  the 
message;  some  less  bright  perhaps,  but  others  glowing 
with  an  effulgence  like  that  which  irradiates  the  throne 
and  makes  it  to  finite  vision  a  blinding  light  that  is  inac- 
cessible. My  eye  was  caught  and  held  by  such  passages 
as  these:  "He  poured  out  His  soul  unto  death";  "I 
have  loved  thee  with  an  everlasting  love  ";  "  Can  a  woman 
forget  her  sucking  child,  that  she  should  not  have  com- 
passion on  the  son  of  her  womb?  yea,  she  may  forget,  yet 
will  I  not  forget  thee";  "God  commendeth  His  love 
toward  us  in  that  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died 
for  us";  "Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a 
man  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends  ";  "  That  ye,  being 
rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  may  be  strong  to  apprehend 
with  all  the  saints  what  is  the  breadth  and  length,  and 
heighth  and  depth,  and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ,  which 
passeth  knowledge."  Any  one  of  these  would  do,  and 
would  more  than  fill  our  powers  of  reverent  compre- 
hension. There  is  another  text,  chosen  to  be  placarded  upon 
the  walls  at  our  Centennial  Exposition,  as  a  rich  epitome 
of  the  Gospel,  that,  when  the  nations  should  come  together 
at  that  bazaar  of  civilization  and  festival  of  freedom,  each 
one  might  read  in  his  own  vernacular,  his  mother's 
tongue,  "God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  Him  should  not 
perish  but  have  everlasting  fife  ";  and  this  indeed  would 
admirably  serve  our  purpose. 

As,  however,  the  message  is  the  most  glorious  truth 
on  earth  or  in  heaven,  we  are  not  content  until  we  are 
sure  that  we  have  found  its  simplest,  sublimest  utterance 
as  given  by  inspiration;  the  greatest  truth  should  have 
the  sublimest  expression.  Longinus,  a  Greek  critic  of 
the  second  Christian  century,  in  a  review  of  the  world's 
literature  as  he  knew  it,  calls  to  our  attention  the  third 
verse  of  the  first  chapter  of   Genesis,    as  he  read  it  in 

[138] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


the  Greek,  ''TevioSu  cjyw'i  Kai  iyevero,"  "Light,  be,  and  light 
was";  and  he  comments  appreciatively  upon  its  terse 
expressiveness.  But  we  are  concerned  to-night  with 
the  sublimest  utterance  of  the  grandest  thought  ever 
revealed  to  man.  We  find  it,  strange  to  say,  in  an  anony- 
mous letter  believed  to  have  been  written  by  a  fisherman, 
and  addressed  to  no  particular  person.  Indeed,  how 
appropriate  this  is;  for  all  individuality  would  narrow  it, 
and  all  human  distinction  would  degrade  it.  So  it  comes 
to  us  the  more  directly  from  the  throne  and  from  the  mind 
and  heart  of  Him  who  sits  upon  it;  through  the  ministry 
of  the  humble  Galilean,  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved. 
Twice  within  the  limits  of  a  single  chapter,  the  fourth  of 
his  first  epistle,  in  verses  eight  and  sixteen,  he  declares, 
"God  is  Love  ";  three  short  words,  three  single  sounds; 
three  syllables  are  all  that  is  needed  for  the  utterance  of  a 
truth,  which  no  angel  has  ever  fathomed  and  which 
eternity  can  never  exhaust  nor  fully  display. 

The  Scriptures  tell  us  that  God  is  powerful,  but  never 
that  God  is  power;  that  God  is  truthful,  but  never  that 
God  is  truth;  that  God  is  wise,  but  never  that  He  is 
wisdom;  that  God  is  just,  but  never  that  He  is  justice; 
but  they  do  tell  us  twice  that  God  is  Love. 

No  man  can  paint  the  sun;  no  human  eye  can  gaze 
upon  it  without  being  blinded  by  its  glory.  Even  when  in 
eclipse  we  must  darken  the  glass  through  which  we  dare 
to  fix  our  eyes  upon  it.  Otherwise  we  must  content  our- 
selves with  mere  glimpses  at  its  brilliance.  So  it  must  be 
as  we  essay  to-night  to  enter  the  Holy  of  Holies,  and  stand 
before  the  Shekinah,  the  manifested  presence,  the  revealed 
heart  of  God;  glimpses  are  all  that  we  may  hope  to  get  of 
that  love  which  passeth  knowledge.  We  shall  take  three 
posts  of  observation  from  which  to  catch  these  glimpses  as 
best  we  may. 

1.  We  estimate  love  by  the  source  from  which  it  comes, 
from  the  character,   the  nature  of  the  lover.      Love  is 

[139] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH.   STAUNTON,  VA. 

never  a  despicable  thing;  in  the  humblest  there  is  some- 
thing sacred  in  it.  You  do  not  despise  the  love  of  your 
dog,  your  horse,  your  servant;  he  that  does  is  unworthy 
to  own  dog,  or  horse,  or  servant;  he  that  does  shows 
himself  more  ignoble  than  dog,  or  horse,  or  servant.  The 
humblest  that  loves  is  better  than  the  highest  that  does 
not  love. 

Nevertheless  we  graduate  love  from  the  dignity  of  the 
lover.  We  rate  the  affection  of  a  friend,  a  brother,  a 
sister,  a  wife,  a  husband  higher  than  that  of  a  dog,  a  horse 
or  a  servant.  So  we  put  a  higher  value  on  the  love  of 
father  and  mother,  and  teacher,  and  pastor,  because  of 
their  relative  or  official  superiority  to  us.  How  pleased 
we  should  be  did  we  know  that  the  most  honorable  man, 
the  loveliest  woman  in  our  community  regarded  us  with  a 
tender,  affectionate  interest.  Still  more  should  we  appre- 
ciate the  fact  to  be  assured  that  we  possess  the  love  of  the 
greatest  man,  the  highest  dignitary,  the  most  worthy  per- 
son on  the  earth.  It  pleases  us  more  than  this  to  believe 
that  there  are  those  in  heaven,  now  kings  and  priests 
unto  God,  our  sainted  mothers,  who  feel  for  us  an  affection- 
ate regard  and  are  waiting  to  welcome  us  home. 

But  between  the  highest  angel  in  heaven  and  throne 
there  is  an  infinite  distance.  If  Michael,  the  archangel, 
is  a  creature,  and  not,  as  some  conjecture,  the  Son  of  God 
Himself,  then  even  he,  though  the  highest  of  finite  beings, 
is  infinitely  lower  than  God  whom  he  worships  even  as  do 
we.  The  love  that  fills  our  thoughts  and  hearts  to-night  does 
not  come  from  the  finite,  shallow  depths  of  any  created 
spirit,  but  descends  from  the  inaccessible  heights  of  the 
throne  itself,  the  infinite  and  eternal  Jehovah,  '  'who  spake 
and  it  was  done,  who  commanded  and  it  stood  fast;  who 
sitteth  upon  the  circle  of  the  earth,  and  to  whom  its  in- 
habitants are  but  as  grasshoppers;  who  stretcheth  out  the 
heavens  as  a  curtain  and  spreadeth  them  out  as  a  tent  to 


[140] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

dwell  in ;  who  taketh  up  the  isles  as  a  very  little  thing,  to 
whom  the  nations  are  as  a  drop  of  a  bucket  and  are  coun- 
ted as  the  small  dust  of  the  balance"; 

"The  God  that  rules  on  high, 

That  thunders  when  He  please. 

That  rides  upon  the  stormy  sky, 
That  manages  the  seas, 

This  awful  God  is  ours, 

Our  Father  and  our  love." 

'Tis  He,  even  He,  who  assures  us  that  He  is  love,  that  His 
nature.  His  very  heart,  is  love. 

11.  Another  standard  by  which  to  estimate  the  pre- 
ciousness  of  love  is  the  object  on  whom  it  is  bestowed.  As 
the  Father  thinks  upon  the  coequal  Son,  "the  effulgence 
of  His  glory  and  the  very  image  of  His  substance,"  we  do 
not  wonder  that  the  full  tide  of  His  love  should  flow  forth 
in  admiring  appreciation,  though  to  our  finite  thinking  it 
is  infinitely  deep  beyond  our  highest  conceptions.  When 
that  divine  love  passes  the  infinite  barriers  and  fixes  itself 
upon  Michael,  the  archangel,  and  his  companions,  pure, 
sinless  spirits,  that  kept  their  first  estate  of  holiness,  we 
can  see  the  fitness  of  the  affection  in  the  moral  worthiness 
of  its  objects.  We  can  understand  why  that  love,  radia- 
ting from  the  throne,  bathes  with  its  blessings  the  spirits 
of  the  just  made  perfect,  the  holy  patriarchs  and  prophets, 
apostles  and  martyrs,  godly  men  and  women,  a  multitude 
that  no  man  can  number,  in  their  robes  made  white,  as 
with  golden  crowns  and  palms  of  victory,  they  ascribe 
"blessing  and  honor,  and  glory,  and  power  unto  Him  that 
sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  forever  and 
ever."  These  happy  inhabitants  of  heaven,  holy  even  as 
God  is  holy,  dwelling  in  the  city  wherein  there  shall  in  no 
wise  enter  anything  that  defileth,  whose  very  streets  are 
of  transparent  gold,  clear  as  crystal,  ever  breathe  the  at- 
mosphere of  love,  because  it  is  the  air  of  heaven  issuing 
from  the  heart  of  God. 

[141] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

We  do  wonder,  however,  when  this  love  of  God, 
native  to  heaven  and  specially  at  home  there,  should  come 
to  this  earth,  this  speck  in  the  universe,  this  workshop  of 
Satan,  this  home  of  sin.  On  whom  does  it  rest  here  ? 
On  the  innocent  infant,  nestling  in  its  mother's  arms  and 
yet  unflecked  by  stain  of  personal  sin?  Yes,  it  blesses 
the  babe.  On  the  pure,  virtuous  woman,  born  and  bred 
within  the  hallowing  shelter  of  a  home,  where  she  has 
been  shielded  from  contact  with  the  vileness  to  be  found 
without?  Yes,  it  blesses  the  virtuous  woman.  On  the 
stalwart  moral  hero,  who  braves  the  demons  of  tempta- 
tion and  comes  forth  the  triumphant  victor,  panoplied 
with  truth  and  righteousness?  Yes,  it  blesses  the  moral 
hero.  On  the  faithful  pastor,  the  sincere  preacher  of  the 
cross,  on  the  godly  mother  in  Israel,  on  the  patient,  pray- 
ing teacher  in  the  Sunday  School,  on  the  generous  giver 
to  every  cause  that  is  good,  on  the  gentle  nurse  that 
strokes  and  bathes  the  fevered  brow  through  the  midnight 
watches,  on  the  hand  that  feeds  and  clothes  and  shelters 
the  poor,  on  the  missionary  that  carries  the  gospel  to  tor- 
rid, darkest  Africa?    Yes,  it  blesses  one  and  all  of  these. 

But  does  it  come  to  the  careless,  stumbling,  back- 
slidden Christian,  who  has  forgotten  his  first  love,  who  has 
gone  back  to  the  fleshpots  of  Egypt?  Yes,  God  says,  "How 
shall  I  give  thee  up,  Ephraim?  how  shall  I  deliver  thee, 
Israel?  how  shall  I  make  thee  as  Admah?  how  shall  I  set 
thee  as  Zeboim?  Mine  heart  is  turned  within  me,  my 
compassions  are  kindled  together.  I  will  not  execute 
the  fierceness  of  mine  anger,  I  will  not  return  to  destroy 
Ephraim;  for  I  am  God  and  not  man,  the  Holy  One  in  the 
midst  of  thee."  God  loves  the  poor,  backslidden,  incon- 
sistent Christian,  and  blesses  him  with  the  cheering  words: 
"Return  unto  Me  and  I  will  return  unto  you;  I  will  heal 
your  backslidings;  I  will  love  you  freely;  for  a  small 
moment  have  I  forsaken  thee,  but  with  great  mercies  will 


[142] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

I  gather  thee;  in  overflowing  wrath  I  hid  my  face  from 
thee  for  a  moment,  but  with  everlasting  kindness  will  I 
have  mercy  on  thee,  saiththe  Lord,  thy  Redeemer." 

But  surely  this  is  as  far  as  the  love  of  God  can  go. 
On  the  sinner,  the  habitual  sinner,  the  willing  sinner,  the 
unrepentant  sinner,  the  disbelieving  sinner,  the  wicked 
sinner,  the  depraved,  degenerate  sinner,  the  outcast  sin- 
ner, we  think  God  pours  the  vials  of  His  wrath  without 
stint  and  without  ceasing.  But  does  He?  Jesus  Christ  is 
the  fullest  revelation  of  God,  for  in  Him  dwelt  all  the 
fullness  of  the  Godhead  in  bodily  form.  As  we  read  His 
life,  we  find  that  there  was  but  one  class  of  persons  whom 
he  condemned  and  chastised  with  scorpion  sting  of  His 
wrath.  Read  that  terrific  arraignment  in  the  twenty-third 
chapter  of  Matthew,  that  seven  times  repeated  denuncia- 
tion, "Woe  unto  you,  Scribes  and  Pharisees — Hypocrites; 
woe  unto  you,  ye  bhnd  guides;  ye  fools  and  blind;  ye 
blind  guides  ;  thou  blind  Pharisee;  ye  serpents,  ye  off- 
spring of  vipers,  how  shall  ye  escape  the  judgment  of 
hell?  "  Here  we  see  something  of  what  is  meant  by  "the 
wrath  of  the  Lamb";  and  its  objects  are  not  the  harlots 
and  the  outcasts,  but  the  self-righteous,  hypocritical, 
respectable,  official,  leading  members  and  officers  of  the 
church. 

Is  the  worst  man,  the  worst  woman  in  Staunton  here 
in  this  house  of  God  to-night?  I  would  that  you  were, 
for  I  have  a  message  from  the  God  of  heaven,  from  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  you,  and  through  you  to  every  one  of 
us.  Every  good  man,  who  has  been  blessed  with  a  good 
mother,  or  sister,  or  wife,  or  daughter,  knows  that  women 
as  a  rule  are  purer,  better  than  men.  Sheltered,  protected, 
untried,  untempted,  with  a  more  delicate,  refined,  moral 
fibre,  woman  has  retained  most  of  the  primeval  purity  of 
Eden.  The  more  exalted  the  height  the  deeper  the  plunge 
into  the  abyss  below.  When  woman  falls,  she  sounds  the 
depths  of  depravity.     Probably  the  vilest  wretch  in  Staun- 

[143] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

ton  is  a  woman.  So  it  was  in  Palestine  when  Jesus  was 
here  among  men.  We  are  told  that  He  did  not  hold  him- 
self aloof  from  the  common  people,  that  He  ate  with  pubh- 
cans  and  sinners,  that  He  allowed  the  harlot  to  wash  His 
feet  with  her  tears  and  to  wipe  them  with  the  hairs  of  her 
head,* 

But  there  was  one  person  in  Palestine  in  His  day  who 
was  the  vilest  of  the  vile.  Possibly  at  first  the  victim  of 
man's  treachery;  but,  yielding  to  temptation,  she  fell;  and, 
like  Satan,  when  she  fell,  she  did  not  stop  in  her  headlong 
plunge  until  she  had  reached  the  lowest  sink  of  human 
wickedness.  We  are  told  that  Mary  of  Magdala  had 
seven  devils;  seven  in  the  Scriptures  is  a  symbol  of 
fullness,  and  so  we  know  that  Mary,  the  famed  harlot  of 
Magdala,  was  filled  with  the  spirit  of  the  devil,  that  she 
was  a  fiend  incarnate,  who  had  probably  led  many  a  man 
astray  and  had  broken  the  heart  of  mothers  and  of  wives. 
We  are  prone  to  think  that  Jesus  treated  her  as  we  would 
have  done  ;  that  such  purity  as  His  would  not  have  walked 
in  the  path  which  she  had  polluted  with  her  filthy  steps  ; 
that  He  would  have  drawn  His  vesture  close  about  Him  as 
she  passed,  that  He  might  not  be  defiled  by  touching  the 
hem  of  her  garments.  But  not  so  with  Jesus.  Does  the 
doctor  refuse  to  attend  upon  the  patient  wrestling  with  a 
mortal  malady?  Does  the  mother  tear  from  her  heart  the 
fibers  of  affection  for  her  truant  boy  and  banish  his  image 
from  her  memory?  Can  we  doubt  the  love  of  Jesus  for 
the  sinner,  for  the  worst  of  sinners?  Can  we,  whose  sins 
have  been  forgiven,  into  whose  unlovely  and  unloving 
hearts  the  stream  of  Jesus'  love  has  flown,  can  we  doubt 
His  grace  to  our  fellow  sinners?  Paul  felt  himself  less 
than  the  least  of  all  saints,  nay,  the  chief  of  sinners  ;  and 
so,  brethren,  you  and  I  feel  that  the  love  which  could 


*It  is  thought  by  some  that  this  sinful  woman  in  the  house  of  Simon,  the  Pharisee, 
was  none  other  than  Mary  of  Bethany  ;  by  others,  that  it  was  Mary  of  Mag-dala  ;  and  still 
others  think  that  she  and  Mary  of  Bethany  and  Mary  of  Magdala  were  all  one  and  the 
same  person.     These  are  interesting  conjectures. 

[144] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,   VA. 

come  to  us,  even  to  us,  miserably,  utterly,  unworthy  as 
we  know  ourselves  to  be,  cannot,  will  not  hesitate  to  reach 
to  any  degree  of  human  wickedness. 

We  know  that  the  love  of  Jesus  did  not  shrink;  when 
He  saw  the  soul  of  Mary  in  the  deepest  depth  of  the  cess- 
pool of  iniquity,  putrified,  disgusting  as  it  was.  He  did  not 
falter  as  He  plunged  His  almighty,  loving  arm  into  the 
filthy  ooze  and  brought  up  the  immortal  soul  hidden  there, 
and  cleansed  it  with  the  washing  of  regeneration  and  the 
renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Henceforth  '  'she  loved  much, 
for  she  was  much  forgiven";  and  when  the  easter  morn 
had  come  and  the  risen  Lord  had  triumphed  over  hell  and 
the  grave,  it  was  to  Mary  of  Magdala  that  He  appeared, 
and  to  her,  not  to  Peter,  nor  to  John,  was  given  the 
privilege  of  first  heralding  the  risen  Redeemer;  and  to-day 
Mary,  from  whom  Jesus  cast  seven  devils,  is  one  of  the 
crowned  queens  of  heaven,  stationed  near  the  throne, 
where  her  loving  and  beloved  Saviour  sits,  holding  the 
sceptre  of  universal  power. 

Mary,  the  harlot  of  Staunton,  Jesus  bids  me  say  to 
you.  He  loves  you;  go  and  sin  no  more.  Your  heart  may 
sing, 

"0  Light  of  light,  0  God  of  God,  for  me, 

Across  the  prison-house  of  long  disgrace. 
Fetter  and  chain  have  fallen  and  left  me  free, 
Since  I  have  seen  His  face." 

III.  But  little  time  is  left  for  our  third  point  of  view. 
After  all,  the  truest  criterion  for  the  testing  of  love  is 
what  it  does,  what  it  gives,  what  it  suffers.  In  a  crowd 
gathered  around  an  unfortunate  man  and  expressing  their 
sympathy,  one  said,  "I  sympathize  with  him  five  dollars 
worth;  how  much  do  you  ?"  A  mother's  love  is  measured 
by  the  sacrifices  she  willingly  makes.  So  the  love  of  God 
is  known  by  what  it  gives,  by  what  it  suffers.  The  theme 
is  boundless,  and  we  must  limit  ourselves  to  the  lowest 
and  the  highest,  leaving  it  to  our  grateful  imaginations  to 

[145] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

supply  what  lies  between.  The  least  of  what  God  does, 
by  means  of  which  He  shows  His  love,  is  seen  in  the  com- 
mon, the  universal  experience  of  us  all.  The  air  we  breathe, 
the  water  we  drink,  the  food  we  eat,  the  clothes  we  wear, 
the  house  that  shelters  us;  "every  good  and  perfect  gift  is 
from  above  and  comes  down  from  the  Father  of  lights." 
'  'He  opens  His  hands  to  satisfy  the  desire  of  every  living 
thing,"     and  "gives  us  richly  all  things  to  enjoy." 

'  'Ten  thousand,  thousand  precious  gifts 
Our  daily  thanks  employ; 
Nor  is  the  least  a  cheerful  heart 
That  tastes  those  gifts  with  joy." 

But  these  multiplied  blessings,  great  as  they  are,  yet 
are  as  nothing  when  compared  with  God's  "unspeakable 
gifts."  Men  may  give  millions,  as  some  men  are  now 
doing,  but  there  is  a  proof  of  love  that  outweighs  the 
worlds.  The  highest  test  of  a  woman's  love  is  when  she 
gives  herself  to  the  man  of  her  choice;  and  so  it  is  with 
man;  and  so  it  is  with  God.  "Greater  love  hath  no  man 
than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his  Hfe  for  his  friends." 
"God  commendeth  His  love  toward  us,  in  that  while  we 
were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us."  Yes,  Christ  laid 
down  His  life,  Christ  died  for  us.  Here  is  the  sunshine 
of  God's  love  in  its  meridian  glory,  upon  which  no  human 
eye  can  look  to  take  in  all,  or  more  than  an  infinitesimal 
part  of  its  meaning.  Christ  died  for  us,  "the  just  for  the 
unjust,  that  He  might  bring  us  to  God."  We  are  apt  to 
think  of  this  death  as  physical,  rendered  excruciating  by 
the  agonies  of  crucifixion.  Such  indeed  it  was,  but  this  is 
only  the  shadow,  only  the  background,  only  the  setting, 
only  the  antechamber  of  the  temple  of  our  Lord's  sacrifice 
for  us.  As  Isaiah  saw  and  said,  His  soul  was  made  an 
offering  for  sin.  He  poured  out  His  soul  unto  death,  the 
travails  of  His  soul  He  should  see.  As  He  said,  His  soul 
was  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death.  The  cup  which 
He  prayed  might,  if  possible,  pass  from  Him,  but  which 

[146] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH.    STAUNTON,  VA. 

He  willingly  drank  to  its  dregs,  was  the  cup  of  God's  wrath 
and  curse  due  to  you  and  me,  the  sinners  for  whom  He 
died,  for  whom  His  soul  died,  as  He  exclaimed,  "My  God, 
my  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  Me?" 

"Were  the  whole  realm  of  nature  mine, 
That  were  a  present  far  too  small; 
Love  so  amazing,  so  divine. 
Demands  my  soul,  my  life,  my  all." 


[147] 


CHAPTER  XIV 

TWO  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE  WEST- 
MINSTER ASSEMBLY 

ON  APRIL  29,  1647,  the  great  Westminster  Assembly, 
in  session  at  Westminster  Abbey,  completed  the 
most  important  part  of  their  valuable  work. 

On  April  29,  1897,  the  Presbyterians  of  Staunton  and 
Augusta  County  met  to  celebrate  the  250th  anniversary. 
Elaborate  preparations  had  been  made  by  the  two  local 
churches.  History  and  Biography,  Doctrine  and  Influence, 
had  been  assigned  to  able  men  for  treatment.  And  as 
session  after  session  was  held  the  hearers  found  that  the 
planning  had  not  been  in  vain. 

On  Thursday  evening,  April  29,  1897,  a  large  audience 
gathered  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church.  Rev.  Dr.  A. 
M.  Eraser  presided.  Rev.  H.  A.  White,  of  Washington 
and  Lee  University,  was  the  speaker  of  the  occasion.  His 
theme  was,  "The  Political  and  Ecclesiastical  Conditions 
which  Led  to  the  Calling  of  the  Westminster  Assembly." 
With  great  power  he  gathered  up  the  threads  unravelled 
from  the  tangled  skein  of  history  from  1543  to  1643,  show- 
ing clearly  how  the  irresistible  trend  of  events  demanded 
the  calling  of  the  Assembly  and  made  its  work  a  necessity. 

"The  Intellectual  and  Moral  Character  and  Qualifica- 
tions of  the  Westminster  Assembly  as  Compared  with  any 
Other  Great  Church  Council"  was  the  subject  of  the 
address  prepared  by  Rev.  T.  C.  Johnson,  D.  D.,  but  who 
was  unable  to  be  present  owing  to  indisposition.  The 
paper  was  read  by  Dr.  J.  M.  Wells,  of  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church,  of  Staunton,  Virginia.  This  was 
followed    by    an    address  by  Rev.    Thornton    Whaling, 

[148] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

D.  D.,  of  Lexington;  by  Mr.  Joseph  A.  Waddell,  of 
Staunton,  on  the  "Shorter  Catechism,"  and  he  by  Rev. 
Dr.  Finley,  on  the  "Doctrines  of  Calvinism  in  Notable 
Revivals  of  Religion."  The  evening  was  spent  in  a 
reception  tendered  by  the  ladies  of  the  First  and  Second 
churches  in  the  lecture  rooms  of  the  First  Church. 

On  Saturday  Rev.  F.  R.  Beattie,  D.  D.,  of  Louisville 
Theological  Seminary,  was  introduced  to  the  audience  by 
Hon.  H.  St.  George  Tucker  in  well-chosen  words.  Dr. 
Beattie  was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  movement  to 
celebrate  this  anniversary,  and  it  was  fitting  that  he  should 
be  heard  on  this  occasion.  With  true  Scotch  fire  and 
power  he  treated  his  subject,  '  The  Influence  of  the  West- 
minster Symbols  on  Civil  and  Religious  Liberty."  He  laid 
down  as  an  established  fact  that  the  four  communities 
where  civil  liberty  had  its  most  perfect  growth— Switzer- 
land, Holland,  Great  Britain,  and  America— were  Calvin- 
istic  Presbyterian  at  the  time  that  civil  liberty  was  in  its 
largest  measure  acquired,  and  then  he  gave  the  reasons 
why  Calvinistic  Presbyterianism  always  produced  civil  and 
religious  liberty. 

On  Saturday  a  poem  was  read  by  Rev.  Mr.  Lapsley,  of 
Bethel,  upon  "the  Covenanters,  or  the  First  Generation 
Raised  on  the  Shorter  Catechism,"  beautifully  recounting 
the  suffering  and  heroism  of  those  Godly  people. 

"The  Catholic  Spirit  of  the  Presbyterian  Church"  was 
the  subject  of  an  address  by  Maj.  T,  J.  Kirkpatrick,  of 
Lynchburg. 

Maj.  Jed.  Hotchkiss  made  an  entertaining  talk  on  the 
"Influence  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  on  Education," 
followed  by  Dr.  Cocke,  of  Waynesboro,  on  "Galvanism  in 
Foreign  Missions." 

The  afternoon  services  on  Sunday  were  a  joint  meet- 
ing of  the  Presbyterian  Sunday  Schools  of  Augusta  county, 
over  which  Rev.  J.  E.  Booker  presided. 

[149] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 

Then  the  Sunday  School  worker  was  truly  in  his 
element,  and  probably  never  looked  into  the  faces  of  so 
many  children  at  one  time  before.  The  various  schools 
from  over  the  county  were  grouped  in  blocks  around  the 
speaker's  stand,  and  back  of  these  sat  the  visitors.  Mr. 
Booker's  own  church — Hebron— sent  the  largest  out-of- 
town  delegation,  the  solid  appearance  of  which  created 
much  favorable  comment.  Of  course,  the  feature  of  the 
evening  was  the  address  to  the  children  by  Rev.  Jas.  P. 
Smith,  D.  D.,  of  the  Central  Presbyterian,  and  the  dis- 
tribution by  him  of  thirteen  hundred  certificates.  These 
certificates  were  presented  through  the  Sunday  School 
Superintendents  to  every  one  in  their  congregations 
who  had  at  any  time  recited  perfectly  the  shorter 
catechism. 

Sunday  was  the  great  day  of  the  meeting.  The  Pres- 
byterian churches  of  the  County  and  City  were  closed,  and 
the  great  gathering  met  in  Columbian  Hall,  filling  it  with 
over  2,000  souls  long  before  the  hour  for  morning  service, 
the  two  local  churches  furnishing  the  choir.  The  visiting 
ministers  who  took  part  in  the  exercises  were  Thornton 
Whahng,  D.  D.,  R,  A.  Lapsley,  A.  H.  Hamilton,  and  H. 
A.  Young.  Rev.  Dr.  G.  B.  Strickler,  of  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  preached  the  sermon  on  "Presbyterian  Doc- 
trines." 

At  8  o'clock  p.  m.  Rev.  Dr.  Moses  D.  Hoge,of  Richmond, 
made  the  closing  address,  saying  that  the  Presbyterian 
structure  had  been  builded  by  the  other  speakers  that  pre- 
ceded him,  brick  by  brick,  and  now  all  that  remained 
for  him  was  to  place  the  capstone,  which  he  did  most 
ably  with  the  subject,  "The  Ethical  Results  of  a  Belief  in 
Calvinism  as  Shown  in  the  Character  of  Men  and  Com- 
munities." 

The  great  meeting  ended,  a  strength  to  the  faith  of  its 
own  people  and  a  benediction  to  the  community. 

[150] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


All  the  addresses  made  on  the  occasion  of  this  celebra- 
tion that  could  be  obtained  are  given  in  the  following 
pages  : 

The  address  of  Rev.  Thos.  Cary  Johnson,  D.  D.,  of 
Union  Theological  Seminary,  Richmond,  Virginia,  was 
as  follows: 

THE  INTELLECTUAL  AND  MORAL  CHARACTER  AND  QUALIFICATIONS  OF 

THE  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY  AS  COMPARED  WITH  ANY 

OTHER  GREAT  CHURCH  COUNCIL 

The  Westminster  Assembly  has  been  held  in  relatively  low 
esteem  in  many  quarters  of  Protestant  Christendom.  Even  Presby- 
terian people  do  not  prevalently  hold  the  AssemMf/  in  that  high  honor 
of  which  it  is  deserving.  Strange  to  say,  while  holding  the  work  of 
this  body  in  extraordinary  veneration,  they  give  to  the  workmen  a 
very  subordinate  place  in  their  regard. 

This  want  of  appreciation  of  the  Assembly  may  be  partially  ex- 
plained by  a  consideration  of  the  following  facts  :  Most  of  the  Church 
histories  of  the  world  have  been  written  by  German  Scholars.  That 
"Germany  is  the  school-mistress  of  the  world  "  is  the  proud  boast  of 
the  scholars  of  that  land.  And  this  school-mistress  was  for  a  long 
time  ignorant  of  English  Church  History.  German  historians,  until 
the  middle  of  our  century,  paid  little  attention  to  the  history  of  the 
church  in  Great  Britain.  It  was  perfectly  natural  for  the  great 
theologian  and  philologist,  Dr.  Winer,  of  Leipsic,  to  /xireii/  mention  the 
Westminster  Confession  in  his  Symbolics,  prior  to  1825.*  It  was 
perfectly  natural  that  H.  A.  Niemyer,  who  issued  his  "Collection  of 
Reformed  Confessions  "  so  late  as  1840,  should  omit  the  Westminster 
Standards,  in  his  first  edition.  Germans  knew  little  of  the  struggles 
and  achievements  of  Christianity  in  England.  They  taught  us  fully 
about  the  church  of  Constantino's  day;  fully  about  the  Council  of 
Chalcedon  and  the  Council  of  Trent.  They  taught  us  next  to  nothing 
about  the  great  Assembly  into  whose  labors  we  have  entered. 

Again  our  minds  have  been  prejudiced  against  the  body  that 
constructed  our  Standards,  by  the  works  of  hostile  or  contemptious 
English  historians.  We  may  not  have  known  this,  but  there  is  no 
room  for  reasonable  doubt  that  it  is  true. 

Clarendon,  like  his  masters,  the  Stuarts,  hated  Presbyterianism. 
He  regarded  it  as  a  religion  of  plebeian  origin.  He  thought  it  was 
unfit  for  gentlemen.     He  naturally   underrated  the   Assembly.     He 


♦Compare  SchaflF's  Creeds,  Vol.  I  p.  728. 

[151] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


says  in  his  "  History  of  the  RebelHon,"  Vol.  I  p.  827:  "  Of  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  of  which  that  Assembly  was  to  consist  *  * 
a  very  few  reverend  and  worthy  persons  were  inserted,  yet  of  the 
whole  number  they  were  not  above  twenty  who  were  not  declared 
and  avowed  enemies  of  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  Church  of 
England;  some  were  infamous  in  their  lives  and  conversations,  and 
most  of  them  were  of  very  mean  parts  in  learning,  if  not  of  scanda- 
lous ignorance;  and  of  no  other  reputation  but  of  malice  to  the  Church 
of  England;  so  that  that  convention  hath  not  since  produced  anything, 
that  might  not  then  reasonably  have  been  expected  of  it."  These 
charges  were  utterly  false;  but  they  have  percolated  through  liter- 
ature; and  they  may  have  lowered  your  own  conceptions  of  the  body 
thus  caricatured  and  slandered. 

Even  John  Milton  must  needs  asperse  this  Assembly,  as  "A  cer- 
tain number  of  divines  neither  chosen  by  any  rule  or  custom  ecclesias- 
tical, nor  eminent  for  either  piety  or  knowledge  above  others  left  out; 
only  as  each  member  of  parliament  in  his  private  fancy  thought  fit,  so 
elected  one  by  one."  Men  are  influenced  by  these  aspersions,  forget- 
ting that  Milton's  antagonism,  in  considerable  part,  was  born  of  the 
Assembly's  opposition  to  his  lax  views  on  divorce  into  which  he  had 
been  provoked  by  his  unhappy  marriage. 

Hume  treats  the  Westminster  Assembly  as  a  fit  subject  for 
detraction  and  contempt.  Lingard,  in  his  widely  read  history  of  Eng- 
land, betrays  not  only  the  hostility  to  be  expected  in  a  Roman  Catho- 
lic against  such  an  assembly  but  little  power  to  appreciate  the  intel- 
lectual and  moral  character  of  the  body  of  which  he  says:  "In  the 
month  of  June,  1643,  one  hundred  and  twenty  individuals  selected  by 
the  Lords  and  Commons  under  the  denomination  of  pious,  godly  and 
judicious  divines  were  summoned  to  meet  at  Westminster."*  Knight 
who  is  sometimes  ranked  next  to  Mr.  John  Richard  Green  among 
popular  English  historians,  ignores  the  Westminster  Assembly. 
Hardly  more  can  be  said  of  Mr.  Green  himself  in  his  matchless  "Short 
History  of  the  English  People."  Craik  and  McFarlane,  in  their  great 
pictorial  history,  present  in  no  adequate  way  the  real  importance  of 
the  great  Assembly.  But  why  go  further  in  this  review?  Scores  of 
books,  widely  read  which  should  treat  of  the  Assembly  whose  anni- 
versary we  now  celebrate,  mistreat  it  or  ignore  its  very  existence. 
It  could  hardly  be  otherwise  than  that  the  Westminister  Assembly 
should  be  generally  held  in  too  small  esteem. 

Again,  through  carelessness  men  have  imputed  some  of  the  intole- 
rant and  bigoted  enactments  of  the  Long  Parliament  to  the  Assembly. 


*Lingard's  History  of  England,  Vol.  I  p.  129. 

[152] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


They  have  confused  the  two  bodies,  one  with  the  other;  and  accord- 
ingly have  laid  to  the  charge  of  the  Assembly  much  of  which  it  was 
altogether  blameless. 

Finally,  when  men  are  told  that  this  body  of  divines  borrowed 
largely  from  theologians  and  creed-makers  before  them;  when  they 
learn  that  the  Assembly  made  a  free  use  of  the  Irish  Articles,  various 
Continental  Symbols  and  the  old  Ecumenical  creeds,  they  often  jump  to 
the  conclusion  that  there  was  no  originality  in  the  body,  and  no  ex- 
traordinary greatness.  And  when  they  look  over  the  Assembly  for 
some  great  denominating  personality  in  it,  like  Agustine's  or  Luther's, 
or  Calvin's,  and  find  no  man  so  Hfted  above  his  fellows;  some  on  that 
account  hold  the  body  in  light  esteem. 

But  let  us  stop  this  speculation  as  to  why  the  Westminster  Assem- 
bly of  Divines  has  not  received  its  due  mead  of  honor.  We  do  not 
hesitate  to  affirm  that  it  was  intellectually  and  morally  one  of  the 
noblest  ecclesiastical  bodies  known  in  history. 

We  concede  that  in  that  Assembly  there  was  no  dominating  per- 
sonality like  that  of  Luther,  or  Calvin  or  Agustine.  But  we  rejoice 
to  think  that  if  one  of  those  great  men  had  been  a  member  of  that 
Assembly  he  would  have  appeared  less  superior  there.  There  was 
too  much  talent  in  the  body  for  any  one  man  to  assume  such  domi- 
nancy.  The  Father  of  the  German  Reformation  had  not  appeared  so 
large  in  the  company  of  such  fellows.  On  the  other  hand,  more  than 
one  member  of  the  Assembly  might  under  suitable  circumstances 
have  played  the  role  of  a  great  reformer.  There  is  a  deal  of  truth  as 
well  as  beauty  in  those  words  so  often  quoted  from  Gray's  Elegy  : 

"Some  mute,  inglorious  Milton  here  may  lie. 
Some  Cromwell,  guiltless  of  his  country's  blood!' 

In  spite  of  all  their  gifts,  their  places  in  history  have  contributed  to 
the  reputation  of  Augustine,  Luther  and  Calvin.  There  were  men  in 
this  Assembly  of  extraordinary  power,  intellectual  and  moral. 

We  concede  also  that  the  Westminster  divines  borrowed  largely 
from  existing  creeds  and  systems;  and  we  admire  them  greatly  for 
doing  so.  The  greatest  theologians  since  the  dawn  of  the  Reforma- 
tion have  done  the  same.  The  teaching  of  John  Calvin  has  an 
ecumenical  element.  His  doctrines  concerning  the  Trinity  and  his 
Christology  are  those  of  the  old  ecumenical  councils.  His  teaching  has 
also  an  Augustinian  element.  His  doctrines  of  Anthropology  and  Grace 
and  Predestination  are  substantially  Augustinian.  Calvin's  teaching, 
again,  has  an  Anselmic  element.  His  doctrine  of  the  atonement  is 
that  of  Anselm,  as  modified  by  Thomas  Aquinas.  And  so  by  further 
analysis  we  might  show  that  in  his  immortal  Institutes  Calvin  put  very 

[153] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


little  that  had  not  been  taught  by  some  other  servant  of  God  standing 
between  him  and  the  Apostolic  Age.  Calvin's  great  merit  was  in 
rejecting  error,  discerning  truth,  and  throwing  the  Bible  truth  of 
which  the  Church  had  become  thoroughly  conscious  into  the  completest 
system  ever  framed  by  the  intellect  of  man.  Now  it  is  precisely  this 
kind  of  work  in  which  the  Westminster  Assembly  excelled.  It  framed 
the  most  logical  and  complete,  as  well  as  the  most  Bibhcal  set  of  Stan- 
dards ever  framed  by  any  body  in  Christendom.  And  both  the  Assembly 
and  Calvin  showed  their  wisdom  in  accepting  the  correct  results  of 
the  labors  of  their  predecessors.  One  aim  in  creed-making  is  clear 
and  comprehensive  statement  of  Scripture  teaching.  It  was  the  part 
of  a  fjetiius,  like  John  Calvin,  to  accept  the  statement  on  the  Trinity 
which  the  Church  under  the  blessing  of  God  had  been  able  to  make 
after  a  struggle  of  three  hundred  years;  and  to  accept  the  Christology 
which  the  Church  evolved  from  the  Scriptures  after  a  still  more  pro- 
tracted struggle.  It  was  still  more  becoming  in  a  creed-making  body 
like  the  Westminster,  to  adopt  the  very  phraseology  of  old  creeds  so 
far  as  they  were  correct  and  sufficiently  comprehensive.  For  every 
word  in  those  old  creeds  had  been  chosen  for  a  purpose.  Every  word 
stood  as  a  barrier  against  some  particular  error.  Every  word  was 
the  result  of  conflict;  and  every  word  was  a  monument  of  victory. 
When  the  Westminster  Assembly  would  answer  the  question  21  in  the 
Shorter  Catechism:  "Who  is  the  Redeemer  of  God's  elect?"  It  did 
well  to  answer  as  the  Council  of  Chalcedon  had  done  in  451  A.  D. : 
"The  only  Redeemer  of  God's  elect  is  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
being  the  eternal  Son  of  God,  became  man,  and  so  was,  and  continueth 
to  be,  God  and  man,  in  two  distinct  natures  and  one  person  forever." 
It  could  see  that  the  answer  was  an  admirable  statement  of  the  Bible 
teaching,  and  it  knew  that  every  word  in  the  Chalcedon  statement 
was  a  tried  word. 

The  body  which  in  such  circumstances  would  abandon  a  tried 
phraseology  would  be  very  foolish.  It  is  a  mark  of  great  worth  in 
this  Assembly  that  it  preserved  that  which  was  of  real  worth  in  the 
earlier  work  of  the  Church;  that  its  aim  was  not  the  reputation  for 
originality;  but  the  systematic  and  correct  statement  of  the  truth  of 
God  concerning  all  matters  of  doctrine,  government  and  worship  in 
His  church. 

But  it  should  be  remarked  further  in  this  connection  :  Not  only  is 
the  splendidly  coheretit  system  of  truth  in  these  standards  proof  of  the 
great  ability  of  the  body  for  the  very  purpose  for  which  it  was  called; 
but  there  is  not  wanting  evidence  of  real  originality.  The  Covenant 
Theology  which  finds  expression  in  the  Assembly's  work  seems  to 
have  been  English,  not  Dutch  in  its  origin.     As  the  Reformation  in 

[154] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


several  Continental  countries  was  spontaneous  in  each,  so  Covenant 
Theology  sprang  up  about  the  same  time  in  the  Netherlands  and  in 
England.  That  in  England  seems  to  have  been  indigenous  in  its 
origin.  The  Westminster  Assembly  moulded  this  theology  in  its  own 
way  and  in  a  masterly  manner.  Again,  in  the  sphere  of  polity  the 
Assembly  did  work  of  original  interpretation. 

We  may  concede  that  the  Assembly  beheved  in  the  propriety  of  a 
State  establishment;  and  in  oppressive  measures  on  the  part  of  the 
State  to  secure  uniformity.  But  there  was  no  considerable  church  in 
that  age  which  did  not  believe  and  practice  the  same  when  it  had  the 
power.  The  Independent  bodies  in  England  about  this  time  are  some- 
times said  to  have  been  ahead  of  the  church  at  large  in  this  partic- 
ular; but  unfortunately  for  that  representation,  as  soon  as  those  very 
Independents  reached  a  controlling  civil  position  and  thus  had  an 
opportunity  to  illustrate  in  a  practical  way  their  views  of  religious 
liberty,  they  lost  their  desire  to  do  so.  While  suffering  for  their  own 
faith  they  naturally  betook  themselves  "to  the  ramparts  of  sound 
principles";  but  when  in  the  providence  of  God  they  passed  from  an 
oppressed  and  suffering  condition  to  a  dominant  position,  they  left 
their  sound  principles  behind. 

Full  toleration  and  religious  liberty  were  to  come  decades  later. 
The  Westminster  Assembly  was  simply  Hke  the  whole  rest  of 
Christendom  in  this  particular,  an  individual  here  and  there  excepted. 

Once  more,  we  admit  that  the  Westminster  Assembly  of  Divines 
was  called  by  the  Parliament;  that  it  was  not  called  in  any  formal 
way  by  the  Church,  but  by  the  State.  It  was  necessarily  so.  There 
was  no  organized  Church  in  England  at  the  time  to  call  such  a  council. 
The  Convocation  could  not  call  it.  There  was  no  Convocation.  The 
hierarchical  form  of  Church  government  had  been  abolished  months 
before  the  calling  of  the  Assembly.  There  was  no  form  of  Church 
government  common  to  the  EngHsh  churches  at  this  time.  There  was 
a  Church  but  no  general  organization.  The  government  claimed  the 
right  to  exercise  its  accustomed  headship  over  the  Church;  and  the 
people  expected  it.  If  any  council  was  to  be  held,  it  was  natural  and, 
in  the  circumstances,  necessary  that  the  government  should  call  the 
body. 

We  deplore  the  fact  that  the  Assembly  did  thus  depend  for  its 
very  existence  on  an  Erastian  act;  but  neither  this  fact  nor  the  fact 
that  it  wanted  somewhat  of  a  true  and  full  conception  of  religious 
liberty  as  the  inalienable  right  of  man  can  obscure  the  splendor  of  the 
intellectual  and  moral  character  of  the  body. 

In  treating  thus  far  of  objections  alleged  against  the  Assembly, 
we    have  incidentally  brought  out  certain   proofs  of  its  moral  and 

[155] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


intellectual  greatness.  If  the  tree  is  known  by  its  fruits,  if  a  body 
can  be  known  by  its  works,  if  this  body  may  be  judged  by  the  Stand- 
ards it  produced,  the  Westminster  Assembly  was  a  notable  body 
intellectually  and  morally.  Let  us  now  address  ourselves  directly  to 
other  evidences  of  its  greatness.     We  observe: 

First.  The  kingdom  of  England  has  had,  perhaps,  in  no  other 
period  of  its  long  history  such  resources  out  of  which  to  draw  an 
Assembly  mentally  and  morally  great  as  at  the  time  of  the  West- 
minster Assembly. 

Puritanism  of  the  noblest  type  had  long  been  doing  its  work  of 
making  great  men.  Men  may  speak  in  dispraise  of  Puritanism,  after 
the  Puritans  had  become  a  political  party.  There  were  then  many  in 
the  party  who  were  not  of  it.  They  had  caught  the  phraseology  of 
the  Puritans.  They  had  put  on  the  external  garb  of  the  Puritans;  but 
they  were  not  Puritans.  Genuine  Puritanism  was  a  noble  movement. 
It  was  of  the  very  essence  of  Puritanism  that  man  should  regard  him- 
self as  the  subject  of  the  Sovereign  Jehovah  of  Hosts.  As  the 
Puritans  saw  matters,  God  had  put  men  into  the  earth,  had  given  to 
every  man  his  work,  and  expected  every  man  to  do  his  duty.  These 
two  great  ideas  of  the  sovereignity  of  God  and  the  responsibility  of 
man,  whose  spread,  history  shows  to  be  productive  of  the  largest 
manhood,  the  Puritans  had  been  teaching,  and  preaching,  and  living 
in  England  for  about  a  century.  They  had  lived  their  Puritanism  too, 
in  the  midst  of  trying  circumstances.  They  had  grown  in  allegiance 
to  their  great  principles  amidst  the  merciless  persecution  of  Laud. 
Thus  stuff  of  the  best  quality  had  been  prepared  out  of  which  an 
assembly  of  unusual  character  might  be  called.  And  if  literary 
remains  prove  anything,  they  prove  that  the  Puritan  scholarship  of 
the  age  of  the  Assembly  lends  a  glory  to  the  whole  history  of  the 
English  church.  This  very  age  was  the  age  of  Baxter,  and  of  Owen, 
and  of  Howe,  and  a  host  of  other  great  names.  It  was  an  age  too  of 
brilliant  preachers.  In  fact,  in  the  history  of  the  London  pulpit,  the 
age  of  the  Assembly  is  one  of  the  great  ages.  The  time  was  one  of 
great  enterprises.  The  common  mind  was  aroused.  Great  minds 
were  employing  themselves  in  divers  ways.  The  result  was  great 
statesmen  like  Pym,  and  Hampden,  and  Cromwell;  great  lawyers  like 
Selden;  great  writers  like  Milton;  and  above  all,  because  religion 
received  universal  and  intense  attention,  great  theologians.  There 
can  be  no  question,  therefore,  that  it  was  possible  to  summon  an 
assembly  of  extraordinary  merit. 

Second.  The  Parliament  aimed  to  make  a  wise  choice  of  men  for 
the  great  work  of  the  Assembly.  The  Parliament  saw  that  a  great 
work  should  be  done  and  it  tried  to  choose  fit  men  to  do  it. 

[156] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


In  the  "Grand  Remonstrance,"  which  it  prepared  in  the  fall  and 
early  winter  of  1641,  the  Parliament  declared  that  it  desired  that  some 
changes  should  be  made  in  the  government  of  the  church  and  its  wor- 
ship, "and  that  there  might  be  a  general  synod  of  the  most  grave, 
pious,  learned,  and  judicious  divines  of  their  Island,  assisted  by  some 
from  foreign  parts  professing  the  same  religion,  to  consider  all  things 
necessary  for  the  peace,  and  good  government  of  the  church."* 

After  obtaining  a  favorable  expression  on  the  part  of  the  King, 
the  Parliament  in  the  spring  of  1642,  appointed  the  commissioners. 
Dr.  Alexander  F.  Mitchell,  the  foremost  authority  on  the  Westminster 
Assembly  says:  "The  general  opinion  has  been  that  the  divines  were 
recommended  by  the  members  of  Parliament  representing  each  county 
and  the  boroughs  within  it  (the  House  in  one  or  two  instances  how- 
ever, insisting  that  a  vote  be  taken  on  the  names  proposed)  and  the 
balance  of  evidence  seems  to  me  to  favor  that  opinion,  "t  But  there 
is  evidence  that  the  nominations  were  made  with  care  and  perhaps 
with  the  advice  of  one  or  more  of  the  accomplished  divines  of  the  day. 
Two  commissioners  were  appointed  for  each  English  shire,  two  for 
each  of  the  universities,  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  one  for  each  county 
in  Wales,  four  for  the  city  of  London,  and  some  others. 

Had  the  King  given  his  consent  the  Assembly  would  have  met  in 
July,  1642.  But  the  King  was  now  openly  opposed.  Finally  in  June, 
1643,  an  ordinance  for  calling  the  Assembly  was  passed  by  the  Parlia- 
ment on  its  own  authority. 

"This  ordinance  declares  that  the  purpose  of  the  Assembly  was  to 
settle  the  government  and  liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England,  to  vin- 
dicate and  clear  the  doctrines  of  that  church  from  false  aspersions  and 
interpretations  in  a  way  most  agreeable  to  the  word  of  God  and  most 
apt  to  procure  and  preserve  the  peace  of  the  church  at  home,  and  a 
nearer  agreement  with  the  Church  of  Scotland  and  other  Reformed 
churches  abroad."! 

We  have  very  ample  evidence  that  this  very  able  body  of  men, 
the  Long  Parliament— a  body,  too  in  spite  of  grave  faults  very 
conscientious,  and  earnest  and  enlightened— a  body  away  above  the 
ordinary  Parliament— we  have  ample  evidence,  I  say,  that  this  body 
both  conceived  the  work  to  be  done  by  the  Assembly  as  of  vast  impor- 
tance, and  tried  to  select  a  body  of  men  fit  to  do  the  work. 

Third.  The  body  chosen  is  shown  to  have  been  of  extraordinary 
intellectual  and  moral  worth  by  contemporary  and  subsequent  testimony. 

Old  Richard  Baxter  had  all  the  qualifications  needed  for  credible 


*  Mitchell:  The  Westminster  Assembly,  pa^e  105. 
t  Mitchell:  The  Westminster  Assembly,  page  108. 
\  Mitchell:    Westminster  Assembly,  pp.  Ill,  112. 

[157] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


witness-bearing  about  the  Westminster  Assembly.  He  had  the 
natural  ability  to  acquire  the  truth  about  it.  He  had  the  amplest 
opportunity  to  inform  himself  on  the  subject.  He  is  conceded  to  have 
been  uncommonly  free  from  prejudice  and  honest  and  godly.  No 
better  witness  could  be  desired,  and  he  says  of  the  Assembly  at  West- 
minster: "The  divines  there  congregated,  were  men  of  eminent 
learning,  godliness,  ministerial  abilities  and  fidelity,  and  being  not 
worthy  of  being  one  of  them  myself,  I  may  the  more  freely  speak 
that  truth  which  I  know,  even  in  the  face  of  malice  and  envy,  that  so 
far  as  I  am  able  to  judge  by  the  information  of  all  history  *  *  *  * 
the  Christian  world  since  the  days  of  the  Apostles  had  never  a  synod 
of  more  excellent  divines."*  Dr.  Stroughton  says:  "The  West- 
minster divines  had  learning,  Scriptural,  patristic,  scholastic  and 
modern  enough  and  to  spare,  all  solid  and  substantial  and  ready  for 
use.  They  had  a  clear,  firm  grasp  of  evangelical  truths.  The 
godliness  of  the  men  is  proved  by  the  spirit  of  their  writings  and 
by  the  history  of  their  lives.  Their  talents  and  attainments,  even 
Milton  does  not  attempt  to  deny."  Mr.  Hallam,  in  whom  the  desire 
to  be  just  is  a  marked  characteristic,  said  of  the  Assembly:  "They 
were  perhaps  equal  in  learning,  good  sense,  and  other  merits  to  any 
Lower  House  of  Convocation  that  ever  made  a  figure  in  England." 
There  is  good  reason  for  supposing  that  Mr.  Hallam's  testimony  had 
been  more  nearly  correct  if  he  had  asserted  that  the  Assembly  was 
superior  to  any  Lower  House  of  Convocation  that  ever  cut  a  figure  in 
England.  The  lay  element  in  the  Assembly — statesmen  and  scholars 
—and  the  extraordinary  men  from  Scotland  who  sat  as  corresponding 
members  helped  to  lift  it  above  any  Lower  House  of  Convocation, 
perhaps.  But  taking  Mr.  Hallam's  estimate  as  correct,  the  West- 
minster Assembly  appears  as  a  great  body;  for  the  great  Church  of 
England  in  all  its  years  can  show  no  Lower  House  superior  to  it;  and 
the  Lower  House  of  Convocation  is  almost  always,  in  enlightened 
ages,  superior  to  the  Upper  House  just  as  the  House  of  Parliament  is 
almost  always  superior  to  the  House  of  Lords. 

General  von  RudlofF,  who  has  written  the  best  account  of  the 
Assembly  in  the  German  language,  according  to  Dr.  Phillip  Schaff, 
says,  "A  more  zealous,  intelligent  and  learned  body  of  divines  seldom 
ever  met  in  Christendom."  The  great  German-American  prince  of 
church  historians,  Schaff,  says:  "The  Westminster  Assembly  forms 
the  most  important  chapter  in  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  England 
during  the  seventeenth  century.  Whether  we  look  at  the  extent  or 
ability  of  its  labors,  or  upon  its  influence  upon  future  generations,  it 
stands  first  among  protestant  councils."     Dr.  Charles  A.  Briggs,  who 

*  Quoted  in  Schaflf's  Creeds,  I  p.  729,  from  Baxter's  "  Life  and  Times  "  I  p.  73. 

[158] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


has  done  good  historical  work  on  the  Westminster  Assembly,  and  who 
will  probably  not  be  accused  by  any  one  of  us  of  over-attachment  to 
the  body  says:  "Looking  at  the  Westminster  Assembly  as  a  whole  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  there  never  was  a  body  of  divines  who  labored 
more  conscientiously,  carefully  and  faithfully,  produced  more  impor- 
tant documents,  or  a  richer  theological  literature  than  the  remarka- 
bly learned,  able  and  pious  body  who  sat  for  so  many  trying  years  in 
the  Jerusalem  Chamber  of  the  Westminster  Abbey."* 

But  time  fails  us,  we  cannot  continue  to  multiply  these  testi- 
monies to  the  mental  and  moral  worth  of  the  Westminster  Assembly. 

Hear  now  from  the  records  of  the  Assembly  itself  an  extraordinary 
proof  of  at  least  the  moral  greatness  of  the  Assembly.  Every  member 
of  the  Assembly  was  required  to  take  the  following  vow,  which  was 
read  in  the  Assembly  every  Monday  morning" :  I  do  seriously  promise 
and  vow  in  the  presence  of  Almighty  God,  that  in  this  Assembly  where- 
of I  am  a  member,  I  will  maintain  nothing  in  a  point  of  doctrine  but 
what  I  believe  to  be  most  agreeable  to  the  Word  of  God;  nor  in  point 
of  discipline  but  what  may  make  most  for  God's  glory  and  the  peace 
and  good  of  the  Church."  This  vow  was  required  by  the  Parliament, 
it  is  true,  but  probably  was  suggested  to  the  Parliament  by  the 
divines,  themselves;  and  was  received  as  an  injunction  from  Parliament 
with  entire  satisfaction  by  the  Assembly. 

Now,  we  appeal  to  the  hearer,  does  not  this  recognition  of  man's 
liability  to  continue  debate  after  the  scripture  teaching  has  been  made 
plain,  implied  in  the  form  of  this  vow,  speak  both  for  the  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  the  Assembly?  Disputants  are  apt  to  argue  a  poor  cause 
after  the  strength  of  the  opposite  cause  has  been  made  eindently 
impregnable,  out  of  hatred  of  acknowledging  defeat,  out  of  pride  of 
consistency,  out  of  a  dozen  unworthy  motives.  This  vow  manfully 
recognizes  the  fact,  and  obligates  the  members  in  a  most  solemn 
way  to  withstand  the  tendency.  It  says,  I  am  not  in  this  Assembly 
to  consider  my  reputation,  but  God's  truth,  God's  word,  God's  glory, 
and  the  peace  and  reputation  of  God's  Church. 

Consult  the  past  records  of  these  men,  too,  and  note  the  fact  that 
not  a  few  of  them  have  felt  in  their  own  persons  and  fortunes  the  bit- 
terness of  persecution.  When  we  look  back  on  the  Council  of  Nicea, 
325,  the  martyr  element  in  that  body  lends  a  sort  of  glory  to  the  whole 
body.  We  see  men  there  ready  to  suffer  unto  death  for  the  testimony 
of  Jesus — men  who  bore  in  their  bodies  the  marks  of  Christ  from  the 
Diocletian  persecution— "Paphnutius,  of  the  Upper  Thebaid;  Potamon, 
of  Heraclea,  whose  right  eye  had  been  put  out;  and  Paul,   of  Neo- 


*  Presbyterian  Review,  vol.  —  p.  136. 

[159] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH.   STAUNTON,  VA. 


Cassarea,  who  had  been  tortured  with  red  hot  irons  under  Licinius,  and 
crippled  in  both  his  hands."  These  men  had  the  courage  of  their  con- 
victions. The  martyr  element  of  the  Nicene  Council  gives  an  increment 
of  dignity  to  the  Council  as  a  whole.  But  the  martyr  element  in  the 
Westminster  Assembly  was  far  larger  than  that  in  the  Nicene  Assembly. 
The  Westminster  was  predominantly  a  martyr  Assembly.  It  is  the  testi- 
mony of  the  ablest  historians  of  the  great  body  that  not  a  few  of  its 
members  had  been  honored  to  suffer  on  account  of  the  truths  to 
which  they  clung,  and  that  "many  of  them  had  the  courage  afterwards 
to  brave  suffering,  ignominy,  and  penury  rather  than  renounce  their 
creed  and  their  views  of  Church  polity  and  discipline,"  and  further 
that  "they  may  be  said  by  the  very  act  of  their  meeting,  to  have  put 
their  livings,  if  not  their  lives,  in  jeopardy";  and  so  to  have  given  of 
the  true  spirit  of  witnesses  to  Jesus,  of  heroic  type. 

We  may  add  that  a  study  of  the  period  shows  that  the  Assembly 
was  so  constructed  as  to  include  all  the  learning  of  the  time  which 
could  be  conceivably  applied  in  the  work  to  which  the  body  was 
destined  save  that  in  the  extreme  High  Church  party.  It  was  not 
designed  to  include  all  the  learned  men,  of  course,  but  all  the  learning. 
The  three  most  learned  men  in  the  British  Isles  were  appointed 
members.  Two  of  them  became  active  members.  The  third  did  not 
become  a  member;  but  his  work  was  freely  used  in  the  construction  of 
our  Confession.  So  that  though  absent,  his  great  personality  was  yet 
powerful  in  the  Assembly.  And  about  one-third  of  the  active,  working 
members  of  the  Assembly  are  admitted,  even  by  those  who  depreciate 
the  body,  to  have  been  men  of  spedul  eminence.  They  were  scholars, 
men  of  talent,  of  constructive,  and  creative  power  in  literature. 
Many  of  the  ablest  works  of  the  age  come  from  their  pens. 

Can  any  one  with  the  testimonies  here  given  to  the  intellectual 
and  moral  excellence  of  the  Assembly  regarded  as  a  whole,  doubt  as 
to  its  very  superior  character  ?  We  believe  that  these  testimonies 
alone  are  sufficient  to  show  that  the  Assembly  was  worthy  of  the 
British  people,  worthy  of  Puritan  Britain,  in  its  purest  and  highest 
days. 

Fourth.  Let  us  confirm  ourselves  further  in  the  favorable 
impression  which  we  have  of  the  Assembly  by  considering  for  a  little 
time  the  several  parties  into  which  the  Assembly  was  divided,  and 
some  of  the  more  prominent  leaders  of  the  parties  severally. 

Not  all  who  were  requested  to  become  members  of  the  Assembly 
did  so.  The  Assembly  was  designed  to  consist  of  151  members  in  all 
—one  hundred  and  twenty-one  divines,  ten  Lords  and  twenty  Com- 
moners.    Among  the  appointees  were  in  fair  proportions,  moderate 

[160] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


Episcopalians,  Erastians,  Independents,  and  Presbyterians.  The 
party  of  Laud  was  naturally  not  desired  in  the  Assembly,  nor  would 
it  have  appeared  had  it  been  desired.  For  it  was  utterly  hostile  to 
Puritanism;  and  irreconcilably  opposed  to  all  compromise  with 
Puritanism.     But  other  parties  were  fairly  represented. 

Dr.  Mitchell  says  "that  almost  all  the  clerical  members  named  by 
the  Parliament  were  in  Episcopal  orders.  Most  of  them  graduates  in 
Arts,  and  not  a  few  of  them  graduates  in  Divinity,  either  of -Oxford 
or  Cambridge.  Three  or  four  were  bishops,  and  five  of  them  after- 
wards rose  to  be  so,  and  several  others  were  known  to  be  favorable  to 
the  continuance  of  Episcopacy  and  a  liturgy,  and  some  of  them  to  side 
with  the  King  rather  than  with  Parliament.  Many  were  known  to 
favor  Presbytery.  A  place  was  found  among  the  members  for  some 
of  the  most  prominent  ministers  of  the  French  Church  in  England,  for 
one  of  Dutch  or  German  descent,  for  two  or  three  Irishmen,  and  for 
some  who,  to  avoid  the  persecution  of  Laud,  had  left  their  native  land 
for  a  time  and  acted  as  pastors  to  the  congregations  of  English  exiles 
and  merchants  in  Holland.  Invitations  to  send  some  commissioners 
were  addressed  to  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  it  is  said  also,  to  the 
Congregational  churches  of  New  England.  "*  And  this  is  a  correct 
representation  of  the  ecclesiastical  complexion  of  the  body.  It  thus 
appears  that  there  were  four  distinct  elements  among  the  appointees, 
viz. :  Moderate  Episcopalians,  Erastians,  Independents,  and  Pres- 
byterians. 

The  Episcopalian  Element  included  the  names  of  three  bishops 
and  five  doctors  of  divinity.  One  of  the  bishops  was  Archbishop 
Usher,  one  of  the  three  most  learned  men  appointed,  and  indeed  of  all 
Great  Britain  of  the  time.  Usher  did  not  attend.  At  any  rate  there 
is  no  good  evidence  that  he  attended  even  once.  But  he  was  held  in 
the  highest  honor  by  the  Assembly;  and  his  work  embodied  in  the 
Irish  Articles  was  much  used  by  the  divines  at  Westminster  in  the 
construction  of  their  Standards.  Of  the  other  Episcopal  appointees 
only  one  or  two  attended,  and  they  exercised  no  influence  in  deter- 
mining the  course  of  the  Assembly. 

The  Erastians,  who  maintained  the  ecclesiastical  supremacy  of 
the  civil  government  in  all  matters  of  discipline;  and  who  made  the 
Church  a  department  of  the  State;  who  held  that  clergymen  were 
teachers  only  and  not  rulers;  and  that  the  power  of  the  keys  belonged 
to  the  civil  magistrate;  the  Erastians  who,  out  of  fear  of  priestly 
tyranny,  would  have  set  up  and  maintained  a  civil  tyranny  in  matters 
spiritual,  constituted  a  small   but  powerful  party  in   the  Assembly. 


*  Mitchell  :    The  Westminster  Assembly,  pp.  116,  117. 

[161] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


They  were  Selden— a  man  learned  in  the  law,  in  theology,  and  in 
Hebrew  lore — accounted  one  of  the  three  most  learned  men  of  his 
time  in  the  British  Isles— and  Lightfoot  and  Coleman,  who  were  also 
distinguished  for  Hebrew  learning,  and  the  lawyers  generally  among 
the  lay  assessors  in  the  Assembly. 

The  Independents,  who  maintained  congregational  independency, 
that  a  local  congregation  is  not  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  Presby- 
teries or  Synods,  and  that  it  has  a  right  to  ordain  its  own  ministers, 
were  also  a  small  element  in  the  Assembly.  The  Independents  were 
at  most  not  more  than  a  dozen,  but  four  or  five  of  them  were  strong 
men  (particularly  Dr.  Thomas  Goodwin  and  the  Rev.  Phillip  Nye). 
They  were  not  only  men  of  ability  and  learning,  but  of  great  strength 
of  character.  They  had  learned  to  love  deeply  their  preferred  form 
of  polity  while  suffering  for  it  during  the  persecution  under  Laud. 
They  made  as  able  a  defense  of  it  as  could,  perhaps,  be  given  to-day. 
There  seems  to  be  some  evidences  indeed,  that  Nye  was  not  above 
political  measures  in  the  effort  to  accomplish  what  he  believed  to  be 
good  ends;  and  that  he  pursued  indirection  more  than  once  in  his 
battle  against  the  Presbyterians.  But  in  this  respect  he  was  beneath 
his  party.  The  Independents  in  the  Assembly,  as  a  body,  have  a  high 
moral  record. 

The  party  of  independents  advocated  religious  toleration.  The 
Independent  party  at  large,  as  we  have  already  remarked,  gets 
a  great  deal  of  credit  for  its  advanced  views  on  the  subject  of  religious 
toleration  and  religious  liberty.  And  it  deserved  some  credit;  but  not 
so  much  as  it  gets.  We  repeat:  The  oppressed  party  often  betakes 
itself  to  a  correct  position.  Christians,  prior  to  the  time  of  Constantine 
the  Great,  pleaded  for  universal  toleration  as  right  and  proper.  But  they 
forgot  the  propriety  of  universal  toleration  once  Christianity  had  be- 
come dominant  in  the  empire.  Under  oppression  they  had  seen  the  truth ; 
prosperous,  they  forgot  it.  This  history  has  repeated  itself  over  and 
over.  While  under  oppression  in  England  Independency  saw  the 
propriety  of  toleration;  but  when  the  party  became  supreme,  as  a 
party  it  ceased  to  act  on  the  principle,  both  in  England  and  in  New 
England.  The  tolerance  of  the  Independents  and  the  intolerance  of 
the  Presbyterians  in  the  country  at  large  and  in  the  Westminster 
Assembly  have  been  misunderstood  and  misrepresented.  There  was 
really  little  essential  difference  between  Independents  and  other 
denominations  on  this  subject.  Christendom  was  to  wait  for  some 
time  yet  before  any  considerable  body  of  Christians  should  maintain 
the  tenet  of  toleration  while  having  an  opportunity  to  grant  toler- 
ation to  others  on  a  large  scale.  Presbyterians  indeed,  had  illustrated 
a  partial  toleration  prior  to  this  time.     The  Dutch  Presbyterians  had 

[162] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


furnished  an  asylum  to  these  very  Independents,  and  had  even  granted 
to  them  the  use  of  their  own  church  buildings  to  worship  in.  This  is 
but  one  instance  of  many  of  the  kind  in  the  history  of  Continental 
Presbyterianism  prior  to  1640.  And  this  history  was  paralleled  in  the 
British  Isles.  But  it  is  true  that  Presbyterians  in  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century  believed  in  the  propriety  of  a  state  religion,  and 
were  thus  logically  shut  up  to  intolerance,  save  by  way  of  exception. 
We  repeat,  however,  that  if  Independents  as  a  body  entertained  other 
views  it  was  while  they  were  in  no  position  to  determine  what  the 
form  of  the  state  religion  should  be. 

The  Presbyterian  Element  was  the  great  element  in  the 
Assembly.  They  formed  the  majority  at  first  and  grew  as  the 
Assembly  advanced.  This  party  held  to  the  original  identity  of 
Presbyters  and  Bishops,  and  that  the  church  ought  to  govern  itself 
by  representative  courts  made  up  of  teaching  and  non-teaching  elders. 
It  was  on  these  subjects  that  the  greatest  debates  took  place,  and 
that  the  great  powers  and  learning  of  the  Assembly  were  most  ex- 
haustively displayed.  Moderate  Calvinism  was  so  general  in  the 
Assembly  that  it  was  comparatively  easy  to  reach  agreement  in  the 
statement  of  doctrines,  while  the  divergent  beliefs  on  the  proper 
polity  of  the  Church  made  it  immensely  difficult  to  agree  on  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  polity.  Among  the  Presbyterians  there  were  two 
parties,  one  holding  the  so-called  Jure  Humano  theory  of  Presby- 
terianism—the  theory  that  Presbyterianism  is  simply  the  best  form 
of  government;  but  to  be  adopted  or  not  according  to  the  preferences 
of  God's  people;  the  other  party  holding  the  Jtire  Dicino  theory,  the 
theory  that  Presbyterianism  is  the  form  of  Church  government  ex- 
pressly established  and  commanded  by  Christ.  This  latter  theory 
triumphed  substantially. 

The  leaders  of  the  Presbyterians  were  Messers.  Twisse,  Gataker, 
Reynolds,  Palmer,  Thomas  Young,  Stephen  Marshall,  Edmund  Calamy, 
Matthew  Newcomen,  and  William  Spurstow  and  others,  and  the 
Scotch  commissioners  who  were  joined  to  the  Assembly  as  corre- 
sponding members  after  the  adoption  in  England  of  the  Solemn  League 
and  Covenant. 

Dr.  William  Twisse,  the  Prolocutor,  or  Moderator,  of  the 
Assembly,  was  a  man  "full  of  learning  and  speculative  genius. "  "He 
was  distinguished  by  his  writings  against  the  Armenians,  particularly 
against  the  Jesuits."  Bishop  Hall,  himself  a  royalist  and  strong 
defender  of  the  hierarchy,  speaks  of  Dr.  Twisse  as  "a  man  so  eminent 
in  school  divinity  that  the  Jesuits  had  shrunk  under  his  strength." 
Thomas  Fuller  says,   "his  plain  preaching  was  good,  solid  disputing 

[163] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON.  VA. 


better,   pious  living  best  of  all  good."     Four  folio  volumes  and  one 
quarto  attest  at  once  his  industry  and  ability,   learning  and  godliness. 

Thomas  Gataker,  the  divine  and  critic,  was  reputed  to  be  the  most 
learned  man  in  England  after  Usher  and  Selden.  He  was  not  only  a 
great  Hebrew  scholar;  but  in  his  real  insight  into  New  Testament 
Greek  surpassed  every  other  Englishmen  of  his  day.  His  religious 
books  were  numerous,  including  "English  Annotations  upon  Isaiah, 
Jeremiah,  and  Lamentations."  He  put  forth  also  valuable  critical 
works  among  which  was  the  edition  of  Marcus  Antonius,  which  Hal- 
lam  says,  "was  the  earliest  edition  of  any  classical  writer  published  in 
England  with  original  annotations. "  He  was  offered  the  Mastership 
of  Trinity  College  Cambridge;  and  refused  it. 

Dr.  Edward  Reynolds,  was  a  divine,  "eloquent,  learned  and  cau- 
tious,"  one  of  the  most  attractive  and  influential  members  of  the 
Assembly;  and  some  times  spoken  of  as  "the  pride  and  glory  of  the 
Assembly,"  though  without  sufficient  warrant. 

Herbert  Palmer,  "gracious  little  Palmer"  as  Bailie  saw  him, 
was  a  devout  man,  the  best  catechist,  perhaps,  in  England,  a  scholarly 
and  powerful  preacher  with  scruples  at  first  about  the  divine  right  of 
ruling  elders,  but  coming  over  bravely  to  the  support  of  Presby terianism 
in  the  end.  He  was  made  master  of  Queens  College,  Cambridge,  in 
1644. 

Stephen  Marshall,  was  characterized  by  one  of  his  enemies  as 
the  "Geneva  Bull,  a  factious  and  rebellious  divine,"  but  he  was  the 
greatest  preacher  and  the  most  popular  speaker  of  his  times;  the  most 
influential  member  of  the  Assembly  in  ecclesiastical  affairs,  a  great 
favorite  in  the  Assembly  and  '  'their  trumphet  by  whom  they  sounded 
their  solemn  fasts." 

Edmund  Calamy  was  a  popular  preacher.  He  was  the  first 
openly  to  avow  and  defend  the  Presbyterian  government  before  a 
committee  of  Parliament.  He  was  active  in  the  restoration  of  the 
Stuarts,  but  impervious  to  all  temptations  to  enter  the  Episcopal  fold, 
the  re-establishment  of  which  followed  upon  the  Restoration. 

Thomas  Young  was  the  Master  of  Jesus  College,  Cambridge,  a 
Scotchman  by  birth  and  an  able  protagonist  for  Presbyterianism. 

But  we  cannot  go  on  with  this  list  of  English  worthies.  We  cannot 
speak  of  Seaman,  the  orientalist,  "  the  man  of  profound  judgment  in 
matters  of  controversal  divinity,  the  invincible  disputant,"  nor  of 
Herle,  nor  of  Dr.  Cornelius  Burgess,  nor  others,  clever  College 
Professors,  and  authors  whose  published  works  show  their  scholarship 
and  ability. 

The  Scotch  Commissioners  were  a  great  power  in  the  Assembly. 
They  did  not  vote.     But  like  Athanasius  at  Nicea,   they  swayed  the 

[164] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


voting  members  by  their  intellectual  and  moral  power.  We  cannot 
speak  particularly  of  the  lay  commissioners  from  Scotland,  though 
they  included  the  Marquis  of  Argyle,  who  afterwards  proved  his 
loyalty  to  the  Scotch  Church  by  suffering  death  for  her;  and  that  great 
lawyer,  and  devout  Christian,  SiR  Archibald  Johnstone,  of  Warris- 
tone.  Nor  shall  we  speak  of  Samuel  Rutherford  and  Robert 
Bailie,  worthy  professors  of  Divinity  though  they  were  as  well  eloquent 
and  godly  preachers.  But  of  Henderson  and  Gillespie  we  must  a 
word. 

Alexander  Henderson  is  to  be  put  into  the  company  of  Knox, 
Melville,  and  Chalmers.  He  was  one  of  the  very  greatest  of  Scotch 
ecclesiastics.  Hardly  one  of  these  other  men  had  such  a  universal 
range  of  influence  in  his  own  country  and  in  England.  He  was 
remarkable  for  tact,  statesmanship,  and  patriotism  as  well  as  for 
conscientious  devotion  to  the  principles  of  the  Reformed  religion  and 
the  Presbyterian  polity.  He  had  in  his  mature  manhood  given  up 
Episcopacy  for  Presbytery.  He  had  soon  afterwards  opposed  "the 
five  articles  "  in  the  Perth  Assembly,  1618;  his  hand  had  been  one  of 
the  most  forceful  in  framing  the  National  League  of  1638.  He  was 
the  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  which  was  convened  later  in  the 
same  year — that  Assembly  which  continued  its  sessions  after  the  royal 
commissioner  had  dissolved  it;  and  which  "condemned  the  spurious 
Assemblies  from  1606  to  1618,  as  well  as  the  Service  book;"  and  excom- 
municated eight  of  the  bishops  and  deposed  the  other  six,  and 
prohibited  Episcopacy,  and  the  Articles  of  Perth."  He  was  appointed 
on  several  commissions  to  treat  with  Charles  I.  And  when  at  length 
hope  of  pacification  between  Charles  and  the  English  Parliament  had 
been  exhausted,  and  the  Puritans  of  England  looked  to  Scotland  for 
help,  Alexander  Henderson  drafted  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant 
which  was  adopted  in  both  countries.  "  My  researches, "  says  Pro- 
fessor Masson,  "have  more  and  more  convinced  me,  that  Henderson 
was,  all  in  all,  one  of  the  ablest  and  best  men  of  his  age  in  Britain, 
and  the  greatest,  wisest,  and  most  liberal  of  the  Scottish  Presby- 
terians. They  had  all  to  consult  him;  in  every  strait  and  conflict  he 
had  to  be  appealed  to,  and  came  in  at  the  last  as  the  man  of  super- 
eminent  composure,  comprehensiveness  and  breadth  of  brow.  Although 
Scottish  Presbyterian  rule  was  that  no  churchman  should  have  author- 
ity in  state  affairs  it  had  to  be  practically  waived  in  his  case;  he  was 
a  Cabinet  minister  without  office."* 

Such  a  man,  of  course,  was  bound  to  have  immense  influence  even 
in  the  Westminister  Assembly. 


*Life  of  Milton,  Vol.  Ill  p.  16. 

[165] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


George  Gillespie  entered  the  Assembly  at  the  age  of  thirty-one 
years,  '  'the  youngest  and  yet  one  of  the  brightest  stars, ' '  the  prince  of 
debaters  and  a  man  of  learning.  He  had  in  his  twenty-fourth  year 
attracted  much  attention  by  his  work  entitled,'  "The  English  Popish 
Ceremonies  Obtruded  on  the  Church  of  Scotland,"  this  had  been 
followed  four  years  later  (1641)  by  a  vindication  of  the  government  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland  against  Independents.  His  ablest  work  was 
to  be  published  in  1646,  a  vindication  of  Jure  Bimno  Presbyterianism 
against  Erastianism.  He  was  thus  fitted  for  his  great  debates  against 
Independency  and  Erastianism.  He  was  furnished  as  well  as  able  and 
skillful.  There  is  a  Scotch  tradition  that  he  once  made  the  great  Sel- 
den  reel  and  say:  "That  young  man  by  his  single  speech  has  swept 
away  the  labors  of  ten  years  of  my  life."  This  may  be  patriotic 
exaggeration,  but  it  is  a  historical  fact  that  Selden  never  made  any 
attempt  to  answer  Gillespie's  demolition  of  his  Erastian  theory, 
while  yet  he  attempted  to  answer  others. 

Now  brethren,  had  we  not  already  occupied  so  much  of  our  time, 
we  would  have  summoned  all  the  great  Church  Councils  of  the  past, 
called  to  make  creeds,  and  compared  them  with  our  own  Westminster 
Assembly.  As  it  is,  we  rest  with  the  assertion  that  we  know  of  only 
one  other  such  body  worthy  of  comparison  with  the  Westminster 
Assembly.  That  is  the  Synod  of  Dort.  The  moral  and  intellectual 
character  of  the  Synod  of  Dort  does  approximate — some  say  it  equals 
—that  of  the  the  Westminster  Assembly.  Nowhere  else  in  all  the 
past  since  the  days  of  the  Apostles  do  we  find  such  a  body.  The  First 
Ecumenical  Council  of  Nicea  and  the  Fourth,  at  Chalcedon,  are  far 
inferior  in  the  learning,  ability,  and  piety  of  their  members;  and  they 
are  universally  esteemed  the  most  venerated  Councils  in  the  Church 
prior  to  the  Reformation. 

The  age  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  was  a  great  age,  partic- 
ularly in  religion.  It  may  well  be  doubted  whether  in  any  age  since 
that  of  Paul  and  John  there  has  been  such  study  given  to  the  Word  of 
God  as  these  Puritans  gave  it— for  the  purposes  for  which  they 
studied  it — viz. ;  to  get  out  the  very  heart  and  core  of  the  Scriptural 
ethics  and  doctrine,  as  a  rule  of  life  and  a  means  of  salvation. 

The  Assembly  was  in  every  way  worthy  of  its  age.  The  study  of 
the  Assembly  should,  we  believe,  tend  only  to  the  further  exaltation 
of  the  Westminster  Standards,  of  the  Bible,  of  the  Grace  of  God,  and 
His  glory  in  the  salvation  of  men.     Amen. 


[166] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

The  address  of  Rev.   Thornton  WhaHng,    D.  D.,  of 
Lexington,  Virginia,  was  as  follows: 

THE  WORK  OF  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

The  Westminster  Assembly  met  at  9  o'clock  of  the  morning  on  Sat- 
urday, the  1st  of  July,  1643,  in  Westminster  Abbey,  and  was  opened 
with  a  sermon  by  their  moderator,  termed  by  them  Prolocutor,  Dr. 
Twisse,  on  John  XIV;  18:  "I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless,  I  will  come 
to  you."  There  were  present  at  this  opening  session  sixty-nine  of  the 
151  members  named  in  the  ordinance  of  the  Long  Parliament  conven- 
ing the  Assembly  of  Divines;  there  were  also  present  both  houses 
of  Parliament  and  a  vast  congregation  which  thronged  the  ample 
spaces  of  the  historic  Abbey  Church.  At  the  close  of  the  protracted 
opening  services  (services  so  protracted  that  I  fear  they  would  have 
taxed  and  perhaps  overtaxed  the  patience  of  modern  Presbyterians) 
which  according  to  the  custom  of  the  patient  and  heroic  Puritans  con- 
sumed many  hours,  the  Assembly  began  its  work  in  the  gorgeous 
chapel  of  Henry  VII,  which  three  years  before  had  been  the  scene  of 
the  Convocation  of  1640,  notorious  for  its  forlorn  attempt  to  carry 
that  policy  of  "Thorough"  which  brought  both  Strafford  and  Laud  to 
the  block— "thorough"  despotism  in  both  Church  and  State.  Light- 
foot,  a  member  of  the  assembly  and  whose  journals  furnish  us  much  of 
our  knowledge  of  its  proceedings,  tells  us  that  at  this  opening  meeting 
"divers  speeehea  irere  made  by  diverx"  [which  would  aptly  characterize 
the  proceedings  of  many  of  our  church  assemblies]  "and  that  Parlia- 
ment not  having  as  yet  framed  or  proposed  any  works  for  the  Assem- 
bly suddenly  to  fall  upon,  it  was  adjourned  till  the  Thursday  following. ' ' 
On  Thursday  the  Assembly,  with  a  wise  and  elaborate  foresight, 
adopted  the  ample  rules  by  which  its  procedure  in  future  sessions  was 
to  be  governed,  and  appointed  the  next  day  as  a  day  of  fasting  and 
prayer  for  God's  blessing  on  their  work.  Accordingly  the  Rev.  Oliver 
Boyles  preached  all  the  forenoon  of  Friday  before  the  Assembly,  both 
houses  of  Parliament  and  a  crowded  congregation  in  the  Abbey  church, 
and  the  Rev.  Matthew  Newcommen  occupied  the  afternoon  in  the  same 
way.  They  had  more  preaching  and  fasting  than  is  fashionable  at 
ecclesiastical  courts  in  our  day.  On  Saturday  the  protestation  or 
vow  required  of  the  Assembly  was  taken  by  the  members  present — 
peers  and  commoners  as  well  as  divines — to  the  following  effect:  "I  do 
seriously  promise  and  vow  in  the  presence  of  Almighty  God,  that  in 
this  Assembly,  whereof  I  am  a  member,  I  will  maintain  nothing  in 
point  of  doctrine,  but  what  I  believe,  to  be  most  agreeable  to  the 
Word  of  God;  nor  in  the  point  of  discipline,  but  what  may  make  most 
for  God's  glory  and  the  peace  and  good  of  His  church." 

[167] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


At  the  same  meeting  by  the  advice  of  Parhament,  it  was  resolved 
to  proceed  at  once  with  the  revision  of  the  thirty-nine  Articles  in 
order  to  free  them  from  false  glosses  put  upon  them  by  Pelagianizing 
and  Romanizing  divines,  and  especially  to  render  impossible  that  inter- 
pretation of  the  Artcles  which  a  bold  pervert  to  Romanism,  Dr.  Daven- 
port, in  1634,  anticipated  Newman  on  his  Tract  No.  90,  in  publishing. 

To  facilitate  their  work  the  entire  Assembly  was  divided  into 
three  equal  committees,  the  first,  of  which  Dr.  Burgess  was  chairman, 
was  to  meet  in  Henry  VII  chapel  and  to  take  in  hand  the  first,  second, 
third  and  fourth  Articles;  the  second  committee,  of  which  Dr.  Stanton 
was  chairman,  was  to  meet  in  St.  John's  and  St.  Andrew's  chapel, 
and  proceed  on  the  fifth,  sixth  and  seventh  Articles;  the  third  was  to 
meet  in  the  Jerusalem  Chamber  and  to  take  up  the  eighth,  ninth  and 
tenth.  From  the  12th  of  July  till  the  12th  of  October  the  Assembly 
was  occupied  with  the  revision  of  the  thirty-nine  Articles.  And  now 
as  we  have  the  Assembly  at  work,  let  us  have  some  description  of  it 
from  good  old  garrulous  Robert  Bailie,  who  was  a  member  and  whose 
letters  are  preserved  for  us  to  the  extent  of  three  octavo  volumes, 
that  reproduce  for  the  historic  imagination  the  most  lively  pictures  of 
its  proceedings.  "  They  did  sit  in  Henry  VII's  chapel,  in  the  place  of 
the  Convocation,  but  since  the  weather  grew  cold  they  did  go  to  Jeru- 
salem Chamber.  At  the  one  end  nearest  the  door  and  both  sides  are 
stages  of  seats.  At  the  upmost  end  there  is  a  chair  set  on  a  frame, 
a  foot  from  the  floor,  for  the  Mr.  Prolocutor  [moderator]  Dr.  Twisse. 
Before  it  on  the  floor  stand  two  chairs  for  the  two  assessors  [or  vice 
moderators]  Dr.  Burgess  and  Mr.  Whyte.  Before  these  two  chairs 
through  the  length  of  the  room,  stands  a  table,  at  which  sit  the  two 
scribes  [or  clerks]  Mr.  Byfield  and  Mr.  Roborough.  The  house  is  all 
well  hung  with  tapestry  and  has  a  good  fyre  which  is  some  dainties  at 
London.  Foranent  the  table  upon  the  Prolocutor's  right  hand,  there 
are  three  or  four  ranks  of  forms.  On  the  lowest  we  find  do  sit  the 
five  Scotch  commissioners.  At  our  backs  the  members  of  Parliament 
deputed  to  the  Assembly.  On  the  Prolocutor's  left  hand  going  from 
the  upper  end  of  the  house  to  the  chimney  and  at  the  other  end  of  the 
house  and  backside  of  the  table,  are  four  or  five  stages  of  forms. 
From  the  chimney  to  the  door  there  are  no  seats  but  a  void  for  passage. 
The  lords  of  Parliament  sit  on  chairs  in  that  void  about  the  fire.  We 
meet  every  day  of  the  week  but  Saturday.  We  sit  commonlie  from 
nine  to  one  or  two  afternoon.  The  Prolocutor  at  the  beginning  and 
end  has  a  short  prayer.  The  man,  as  the  world  knows,  is  very  learned 
in  the  questions  he  has  studied  and  very  good,  beloved  of  all,  and 
highlie  esteemed,  but  merely  bookish,  and  not  much  as  it  seems 
acquaint  with  conceived  prayer  and  among  the  unfittest  of  all  the 

[168] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


company  for  any  action;  so  after  the  prayer  he  sits  mute.  It  was  the 
canny  convoyance  of  those  who  guide  most  matters  for  their  own 
interest  to  plant  such  a  man  of  purpose  in  the  chair."  [So  that  Bailie 
thinks  that  what  the  moderns  call  "  log  rolling  "  was  practiced  even 
in  the  choice  of  the  moderator  of  the  Westminster  Assembly.  Per- 
haps it  was  only  Bailie's  suspicion.]  "The  one  assessor,  our  good 
friend,  Mr.  Whyte,  has  keeped  in  with  the  gout  since  our  coming;  the 
other,  Dr.  Burgess,  a  very  active  and  sharpe  man,  supplies  so  far  as 
is  decent,  the  Prolocutor's  place.  Ordinarily  there  will  be  present 
about  three  score  of  these  divines.  They  are  divided  into  three 
committees;  on  one  whereof  every  man  is  a  member.  No  man  is 
excluded  who  pleases  to  come  to  any  of  the  three.  Every  committee, 
as  the  Parliament  gives  order  in  wryte  to  take  any  purpose  to  consid- 
eration, takes  a  portion,  and  in  their  afternoon  meeting  prepares  matter 
for  the  Assembly,  setts  down  their  minde  in  distinct  propositions, 
backs  their  proposition  with  texts  of  Scripture.  After  the  prayer  Mr. 
Byfield,  the  scribe,  reads  the  proposition  and  Scriptures,  whereupon 
the  Assembly  debates  in  a  most  grave  and  orderly  manner.  No  man 
is  called  up  to  speak,  but  who  stands  up  of  his  own  accord,  he  speaks 
as  long  as  he  will  without  interruption.  If  two  or  three  stand  up  at 
once,  then  the  divines  confusedlie  call  on  his  name,  whom  they  desire 
to  hear  first;  on  whom  the  loudest  and  maniest  voices  call  he  speaks. 
They  harangue  long  and  very  learnedly.  When  upon  every  proposition 
by  itself  and  on  every  text  of  Scripture  that  is  brought  to  confirm  it, 
every  man  who  will  has  said  his  whole  minde  and  the  replies  and 
duplies  and  triplies,  are  heard:  Then  the  most  part  calls  to  the  ques- 
tion. Byfield,  the  scribe,  rises  from  the  table,  comes  to  the  Prolo- 
cutor's chair,  who  from  the  scribe's  book  reads  the  proposition,  and 
says  as  many  as  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  question  is  well  stated  in 
the  proposition  let  them  say,  'aye':  When  'aye'  is  heard,  he  says,  as 
many  as  think  otherwise  say,  'no.'  This  way  is  clear  enough  and  saves 
a  great  deal  of  time  which  we  spend  in  reading  our  catalogue.  When 
a  question  is  once  decided  there  is  no  more  debate  of  that  matter,  but 
if  a  man  will  vaige  he  is  quickly  takenup  by  Mr.  Assessor  or  many 
other  confusedly  crying  'Speak  to  order,  to  order. '  I  thought  meet  for 
once  to  give  you  a  taste  of  the  outward  form  of  their  Assembly.  They 
follow  the  way  of  their  Parliament.  Much  of  their  way  is  good  and 
worthy  of  imitation;  only  their  longsomeness  is  wofull." 

Good  brother  Bailie  is  not  the  only  man  who  ever  complained  of 
Puritan  and  Presbyterian  preachers,  "their  longsomeness  is  wofull.'^ 
He  fails  to  mention  the  insufficient  remuneration  of  a  Westminster 
divine  which  at  first  was  very  irregularly  paid  and  afterwards  not 
paid  at  all.     Satirists  of  that  time  make  themselves  merry  over  their 

[169] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


per  diem  of  four  shillings,  and  yet  because  it  was  not  paid,  some  were 
reduced  to  great  financial  straits  and  were  compelled  to  cease  attend- 
ance upon  the  Assembly.  Even  the  Westminster  divines  were  not 
birds  of  Paradise  feeding  upon  the  dews  of  heaven. 

Before  the  12th  of  October  the  Assembly  had  completed  the 
revision  of  fifteen  of  the  articles  and  were  proceeding  with  the 
sixteenth  when  an  order  came  from  Parliament  to  lay  aside  this  work 
and  take  up  at  once  the  government  and  liturgy  of  the  Church.  This 
order  was  the  result  of  an  alliance  formed  between  the  Long  Parlia- 
ment and  the  Scotch  Estate  and  General  Assembly.  While  the 
revision  of  the  thirty-nine  articles  was  being  carried  on  by  the  West- 
minster divines,  the  cause  of  the  Parliament  had  experienced  severe 
reverses  in  the  country  and  the  resolution  was  formed  to  outbid  the 
King  for  the  Scotch  alliance.  Negotiations  were  entered  into  for  that 
purpose  with  the  result  of  the  adoption  by  both  kingdoms  of  the 
Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  drawn  up  by  the  Scotch  divine,  Alex- 
ander Henderson,  which  pledged  "the  defense  and  preservation  of 
the  Reformed  religion  in  the  church  of  Scotland  in  doctrine,  worship, 
discipline,  and  government,  and  the  reformation  of  religion  in  the 
kingdoms  of  England  and  Ireland,  according  to  the  word  of  God  and 
the  practice  of  the  best  Reformed  Churches  and  the  bringing  of  the 
Church  of  God  in  the  three  kingdoms  to  the  nearest  conjunction  and 
uniformity  in  religion.  Confession  of  faith,  form  of  church  govern- 
ment. Directories  for  worship  and  catechising,"  The  work  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly  had  been  originally  defined  to  be  "to  confer 
and  treat  concering  the  liturgy,  discipline  and  government  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  the  vindicating  of  the  doctrine  of  the  same 
from  all  false  aspersions  and  misconstructions,"  but  its  mission  as 
indicated  in  this  Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  was  now  broadened 
to  include  the  provisions  of  formularies  of  doctrine,  government, 
discipline  and  worship  for  the  Church  of  God  in  the  three  kingdoms  of 
England,  Scotland  and  Ireland.  This  solemn  covenant  between 
England  and  Scotland  was  not  formed  without  meeting  opposition 
even  in  the  Westminster  Assembly  itself.  Dr.  Burgess,  a  leading 
member  of  that  body,  one  of  the  assessors  and  chairman  of  the  first  com- 
mittee, spoke  in  opposition  to  it,  and  petitioned  the  House  of  Commons 
against  it.  For  these  offenses  Dr.  Lightfoot,  equally  prominent  among 
the  Westminster  divines  characterized,  him  as  a  "wretch  to  be 
branded  to  all  posterity,  seeking  for  some  devilish  ends  of  his  own  or 
others  or  both  to  hinder  so  great  a  good  of  the  two  nations."  Even 
ministerial  controversies  had  not  always  been  tempered  by  a  sweet 
and  gentle  courtesy.  Paul  and  Barnabas,  Lightfoot  and  Burgess. 
But  the  Covenant  was  adopted,  and  in   consequence   commissioners 

[170] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


from  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  whose  influence 
was  destined  to  be  so  great,  in  some  respects  to  be  paramount,  in 
future  deliberations  in  the  Westminster  Assembly,  took  their  seats 
in  that  remarkable  body,  amongst  which  commissioners  were  inscribed 
the  venerable  names  of  Alexander  Henderson,  Samuel  Rutherford, 
George  Gillispie,  Robert  Bailie,  and  John  Lord  Maitland. 

And  now  began  those  interminable  controversies  over  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Church,  which  consumed  more  of  the  time  of  the  Assembly 
than  the  framing  of  any  of  its  majestic  doctrinal  symbols.  The  reason 
of  this  is  found  in  the  fact,  not  that  the  polity  of  the  Church  was 
regarded  as  of  equal  importance  with  its  formularies  of  faith,  but 
because  while  all  were  agreed  in  the  acceptance  of  Calvinistic  doctrine, 
there  were  many  shades  of  opinion  in  the  Assembly  as  to  the  Scriptural 
and  convenient  polity  of  the  Church.  There  were  advocates  of  Episco- 
pacy of  the  type  of  Dr.  Featley,  there  were  prudential  Presbyterians 
who  afterward  conformed  to  Episcopacy  at  the  time  of  the  Restoration, 
of  the  type  of  Doctor,  afterwards  Bishop  Reynolds;  there  were  Jure  I)i- 
vino  Presbyterians  of  the  type  of  the  Scotch  commissioners,  with  whom 
agreed  perhaps  a  majority  of  the  Assembly;  there  were  moderate  Pres- 
byterians who  denied  the  presbyter  theory  of  the  eldership;  there  were 
independents  of  the  type  of  the  five  famous  brethren,  Mr.  Goodwin,  Mr. 
Nye,  Mr.  Burroghs,  Mr.  Greenhill,  Mr.  Bridge;  there  were  Erasteans 
of  the  type  of  the  learned  and  godly  Selden,  anti-quariorium  corypJialus, 
in  fact  all  parties  were  represented  in  it  except  extreme  high  church- 
men of  the  type  of  Laud  and  the  anabaptists;  a  body  thus  composed 
must  be  racked  with  controversies  when  attempting  to  frame  a  form 
of  church  government  and  discipline  for  the  Church  of  God  in  the  three 
British  kingdoms.  There  were  three  treatises  upon  the  subject  of 
ecclesiastical  government  and  discipline  prepared  by  the  Westminster 
Assembly  during  the  first  two  years  of  its  history.  On  the  20th  of 
April,  1644,  more  than  six  months  after  it  began  its  work  in  the  field 
of  Church  polity,  the  Assembly  sent  to  the  House  of  Parliament  the 
first  installment  of  its  form  of  church  government  in  the  Directory  of 
Ordination.  Six  months  later,  on  the  8th  of  November,  1644,  the 
second  installment  was  remitted  in  the  treatise  entitled  "Propositions 
Concerning  Church  Government";  these  two  were  united  and  entitled 
"Form  of  Church  Government"  when  they  were  adopted  by  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  and  with  some  amendment  they  constitute  the  form  of 
government  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  America  as  well.  The  third 
treatise  was  a  practical  directory  for  church  government  and  dis- 
cipline prepared  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1644  and  the  earlier  part 
of  1645,  and  delivered  to  Parliament  on  7th  July,  1645.  This  practical 
directory  was  never   adopted  by  the  Church  of  Scotland,  which  still 

[171] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


clung  to  its  old  book  of  discipline,  but  was  embodied  in  the  ordinance 
passed  by  the  House  of  Parliament  in  1648,  under  the  title,  "The  Form 
of  Church  Government,  to  be  Used  in  England  and  Ireland"— so  that 
the  Presbyterian  Church  was  for  some  years  the  established  Church  of 
England.  This  third  Westminster  treatise  on  church  government, 
has  never  been  adopted  by  any  Church  as  a  part  of  its  form  of  govern- 
ment, save  by  the  Anglican  Church  for  this  short  time,  but  it  remains 
as  a  valuable  illustration  of  a  large  and  liberal  construction  of  Pres- 
byterian polity  sanctioned  by  the  Westminster  Assembly  itself,  for  if 
it  be  not  invidious  to  constitute  comparisons  it  manifests  a  more 
liberal  and  catholic  spirit  than  any  of  the  products  of  the  Assembly  in 
this  vexed  field  of  church  government,  actually  sustaining,  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  say  I  think  incorrectly,  the  opinion  that  the  people  may  be 
represented  by  idoneous  persons  as  well  as  elders,  since  it  asserts  that 
"synodical  assemblies  to  consist  of  pastors,  teachers.  Church  gov- 
ernors, and  other  fit  persons  (when  it  shall  be  deemed  expedient) 
where  they  have  a  lawful  calling  thereunto."         *  *  *  * 

But  the  chief  work  of  this  Assembly  for  which  after  ages  will 
keep  it  in  everlasting  remembrance  is  in  the  sphere  of  doctrine.  The 
revision  of  the  thirty-nine  Articles  which  in  the  providence  of  God 
constituted  its  work  in  the  earlier  months  of  its  existence  was  an 
admirable  preparation  for  the  fresh  and  original  creation  of  new 
symbols  of  faith.  These  Articles  are  often  published  in  the  shape  in 
which  they  were  adopted  by  the  Long  Parliament  but  never,  so  far  as 
I  have  been  able  to  discover,  in  the  form  in  which  they  were  presented 
by  the  Westminster  Assembly.  Dr.  Mitchell  tells  us  that  its  original 
Westminster  form  may  be  found  in  a  rare  volume  of  tracts  in  the 
British  Museum.  During  the  long  controversy  between  the  Parlia- 
ment and  the  Assembly,  for  such  it  ought  to  be  termed,  the 
Assembly  prepared  a  short  creed  to  be  required  of  applicants  for 
admission  to  the  Lord's  table  and  containing  the  fundamentals  of  the 
Christain  faith.  The  noisy  advocates  who  perplex  the  modern  Church 
by  arguing  for  the  substitution  of  the  longer  and  complex  Confession 
by  a  shorter  creed,  should  be  referred  to  this  short  Creed  in  which 
their  demands  are  anticipated  but  perhaps  not  in  a  form  to  their  taste, 
as  this  Short  Creed  is  as  distinctly  Calvinistic  as  the  Confession  or 
the  Catechisms.  Short  Creed  is  the  next  best  thing  to  no  Creed  to 
those  who  wish  to  rid  themselves  of  all  doctrine  and  dogma. 

The  real  preparation  of  the  present  Confession  of  Faith  began  on 
the  20th  of  August,  1644,  by  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  pre- 
pare matter  for  a  joint  Confession  of  Faith;  the  subject  of  most  of 
the  chapters  embodied  in  the  Confession  being  fixed  by  this  com- 
mittee. 

[172] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


The  heads  of  the  chapters  of  the  proposed  Confession  prepared  by 
this  committee  were  later  distributed  amongst  the  three  committees 
into  which  the  whole  Assembly  was  divided  with  instructions  to  fully 
discuss  and  elaborate  them  before  bringing  into  the  Assembly. 

The  exact  form  which  our  Confession   assumed  of   thirty-three 
chapters  covering  the  entire  field  of  theology  and  Christian  ethics  is 
due  to  this  distribution  of  topics  amongst  these  permanent  committees 
of  the  Assembly.     The  reports  of  these  committees  began  on  the  7th 
of  July    1645,    but  was  much  interrupted  by  the   differences  which 
arose  in  the  houses  of  Parliament  and  the  Assembly  as  to  the  autonomy 
of  the  Church.     So    far  as  appears  from  the  minutes,   the  various 
Articles  of  the  Confession  were  passed  by  the  Assembly  all  but  unan- 
imously.    The  main  occasions  on  which  there  was  a  failure  to  secure 
unanimity  were  with  regard  to  the  omission  of  the  word  "  blessed 
before  the  Virgin  Mother  of  our  Lord;  the  dissent  from  the  words 
"  foreordained  to  everlasting  death,"  and  the  decided  protest  against 
the  Westminster  doctrine  of  Church  and  State,  which  indeed  has  been 
completely  revolutionized  by  the  American  Church.     After  five  months 
of  constant  work  by  the  Assembly,  on  the  4th  of  December,  1646,  the 
completed  Confession  of  Faith  without  Scripture  proof s  was  presented 
to    the    House  of    Commons,   but  a  new  order  was  made  that  the 
Scripture  proofs  be  added,  and  on  29th  of  April,  1647,  a  committee  of 
the  Assembly  further   presented   to  both   houses  the   Confession  of 
Faith  with  the  Scripture  proofs  inserted  in  the  margin.     I  am  sorry 
that  the  proof-texts  printed  in  our  present  Confession  of  Faith  are 
not  those  adopted  by  the  Westminster  Assembly.     The  proof-texts 
which  the  Westminster  Assembly  spent  three  months  in  providing  for 
the  Confession  and  four  months  in  providing  for  the  Catechisms  were 
removed  by  the  First  General  Assembly  of  the  American  Presbyterian 
Church  in  1788,  which  adopted  the  constitution  without  proof-texts, 
but  in  1794  a  committee  was  appointed  to  add  proof -texts,  and  thus 
our  present  proof-texts  are  those  provided  by  a  committee  of  the 
American  General  Assembly  and  not  those  so  carefully  prepared  by 
the  Westminster  Assembly. 

The  contents  of  the  Confession  may  be  described  as  Puritan  theology, 
Puritan  ethics,  and  the  Puritan  doctrine  of  the  Church  and  the  sacra- 
ments. It  is  true  that  all  the  doctrinal  achievements  of  the  Church  in 
the  past  are  conserved  and  utilized,  the  Athanasian  and  Nicene  Trini- 
tarianism,  the  Chalcedonian  Christology,  the  Augustinian  Anthro- 
pology, the  Anselmic  and  Reformed  Soberiolgies  are  wrought  into  its 
organic  structure  but  the  organic  principle  which  unifies  and  vitalizes 
all  of  its  constituent  materials  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Covenants,  which 
all  historians  of  the  development  of  doctrine  are  now  agreed  in  holding 

[173] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON.  VA. 


was  not  derived  by  the  Puritan  divines  from  the  Dutch  school  of 
Witsins  and  Cocoeius,  but  which  the  Dutch  divines  derived  from  the 
English  Puritans. 

The  preparation  of  the  catechisms  went  on  simultaneously  with 
that  of  the  Confession.  Early  in  the  sessions  of  the  Assembly  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  prepare  a  catechism  whose  chairman  was  the 
most  learned  catechist  in  the  kingdom,  "the  learned  and  godly  little 
Palmer,"  as  garrulous  Bailie  calls  him.  The  Westminster  Assembly 
was  an  Assembly  of  catechists;  twelve  or  fourteen  of  them  had  pub- 
lished catechisms  of  their  own  and  all  of  them  practised  the  now 
obsolete  art  of  pastoral  catechising  in  their  congregations  and  hence 
the  work  commanded  enthusiastic  and  undivided  attention;  the  pre- 
paration of  the  larger  Catechism  consuming  more  time  than  that  of 
the  Confession  itself;  indeed  the  most  elaborate  and  complete  exposition 
of  Puritan  and  Westminster  theology  and  ethics  is  to  be  found  in  this 
great  catechism.  The  Shorter  Catechism,  however,  has  been  far 
more  popular  and  influential.  But  it  makes  one  shudder  to  contem- 
plate how  near  the  Westminster  Assembly  came  to  miss  preparing  the 
Lesser  Catechism  for  the  children.  The  Assembly's  catechism  had 
been  prepared  after  a  year's  work  by  Mr.  Palmer's  committee,  had 
been  debated  in  the  Assembly  for  four  months,  when,  on  January  14, 
1647,  after  much  discussion,  it  was  resolved  to  prepare  two  catechisms, 
a  larger  and  a  smaller;  the  larger  one  to  be  explained  to  the  people  by 
the  minister  from  the  pulpit  following  the  custom  of  the  Reformed 
Churches  on  the  continent,  and  the  smaller  one  designed  for  the 
instruction  of  children.  Even  after  the  decision  was  reached  to  frame 
this  shorter  catechism,  Mr.  Palmer,  supported  by  the  Scotch  commis- 
sioners, whose  influence  was  great  and  often  decisive,  insisted  on 
breaking  up  all  the  principal  answers  into  a  series  of  short  questions 
admitting  of  the  simple  reply  by  the  child  "yes"  or  "no" — the 
result  of  which  would  have  been  to  give  us  an  entirely  different  cate- 
chism from  that  historic  one  with  which  all  of  us  are  so  familiar. 
Certainly  such  a  catechism  would  have  violated  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciple which  guided  the  construction  of  the  one  we  have  as  stated  by 
Dr.  Lazarus  Seamon:  "That  the  greatest  care  should  be  taken  to 
frame  the  answer  not  according  to  the  amount  of  the  knowledge  the 
child  hath,  but  according  to  that  the  child  ought  to  have."  After  a 
"  longsome  and  woful  discussion"  in  the  good  Providence  of  God 
"  little  Palmer  "  died  and  the  catechism  was  prepared  in  the  form  in 
which  we  now  have  it.  Many  a  good  man  has  to  die  and  get  out  of 
the  way  before  God's  work  can  go  on  in  the  way  He  wants  it.  And 
so  the  work  went  on,  the  Larger  Catechism  was  completed  October 
15,  1647,  and  the  shorter  one,   called  indiscriminately  in  minutes  of 

[174] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Assembly  the  "Little  Catechism,"  the  "Lesser  Catechism,"  the 
"Short  Catechism,"  the  "Shorter  Catechism,"  on  November  25,  1647, 
and  with  their  proof-texts,  which  it  cost  the  Assembly  four  months  to 
prepare,  were  presented  to  Parliament  April  12,  1648.         *         *        * 

It  falls  not  within  my  purpose  this  morning  to  explain  the  failure 
of  the  Westminster  Assembly  to  accomplish  the  purpose  for  which  it 
was  convened  by  the  Long  Parliament,  viz:  To  secure  uniformity  in 
the  Church  of  God  in  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland  in  doctrine, 
worship,  government  and  discipline  nor  is  it  my  purpose  to  discuss  the 
wide  and  helpful  influences  which  its  Standards  exerted  upon  the 
Churches  of  Christendom,  especially  upon  the  Presbyterian  Churches 
of  Scotland  and  North  America. 

But  perhaps  I  may  point  your  attention  to  the  adamantine  industry 
with  which  it  carried  on  its  work  through  more  than  1,200  sessions;  to 
the  unfailing  courage  with  which  it  faced  the  threats  of  the  King  and 
of  its  ally,  the  Long  Parliament— to  the  fidelity  to  God's  Word  with 
which  it  sought  to  base  every  principle  of  doctrine,  government  and 
worship  upon  its  teachings — "to  back  every  proposition  with  texts  of 
Scripture  "  as  was  said  of  them;  above  all  I  may  emphasize  the  breadth 
and  catholicity  of  the  Westminster  Standards.  There  may  be  narrow 
Presbyterians;  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  narrow  Presbyterianism, 
if  the  Westminster  symbols  be  an  adequate  expression  of  Presby- 
terian doctrine  and  polity.  All  who  accept  Calvanistic  doctrine  and 
Presbyterian  order  may  accept  its  liberal  and  generous  and  yet  care- 
fully drawn  and  scientific  statements.  Supra  and  Sub-lapsarians, 
Creationists  and  Traducianists,  immediate  and  mediate  Imputationists 
may  all  find  ample  room  within  its  catholic  embrace,  which  was 
widened  of  set  purpose  to  enclose  all  these  and  many  other  parties, 
provided  they  only  accept  the  historic  Calvinism  and  a  generous  Pres- 
byterian polity.  Nor  is  there  wanting  proof  that  the  Westminster 
divines  looked  beyond  the  catholic  Presbyterianism  in  which  they 
believed  with  all  their  hearts  to  the  wider  interests  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God,  of  which  they  felt  that  all  individual  and  national  Churches  were 
but  fractional  parts. 

The   address  of   Hon.    Joseph   Addison   Waddell,    of 
Staunton,  Virginia,  follows: 

THE   SHORTER   CATECHISM 

If  the  Legislature  of  Virginia  or  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  should  pass  an  ordinance  convening  an  ecclesiastical  assembly 
to  adopt  a  confession  of  faith  and  rules  for  church  service,  it  would 
be  considered   a   very   strange  proceeding.     But  that   is   what   the 

[175] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Parliament  of  England  did  a  little  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago,  and  it  was  generally  regarded  as  entirely  right  and  proper. 
It  was  not  till  the  American  Revolution  that  the  Christian  world  began 
to  understand  that  civil  governments  had  nothing  to  do  with  church 
or  religious  affairs.  It  was  almost  universally  considered  the  right 
and  duty  of  the  State  to  provide  for  the  maintenance  of  religion,  and 
that  involved  the  necessity  or  expediency  of  prescribing  the  system  of 
doctrine  and  the  mode  of  worship  to  be  supported. 

Therefore,  the  Parliament  and  a  majority  of  the  people  of  England 
being  dissatisfied  with  previous  Church  establishment,  which  had  been 
abolished,  the  Westminster  Assembly  was  convened,  to  recommend  a 
Confession  of  Faith  and  Directory  of  Church  Government. 

It  is  not  my  appointed  task,  however,  to  speak  of  the  members  or 
the  general  work  of  the  Assembly.  One  result  of  their  labor  has  been 
assigned  to  me — the  Shorter  Catechism.  A  recent  writer  in  a  Quar- 
terly Review  describes  this  Catechism  as  '  'the  work  of  the  greatest 
intellects  in  one  of  the  most  intellectual  periods  of  Great  Britain,  and 
the  fruit  of  the  richest  Christian  experience  of  saints,  at  least  as  dis- 
tinguished as  any  that  the  Church  of  God  has  ever,  at  any  one  time, 
included  in  its  membership." 

The  Larger  Catechism  was  completed  first,  but  the  Shorter  was 
first  reported  to  the  House  of  Commons.  The  framing  of  the  Cate- 
chism appears  to  have  been  the  work  of  a  committee,  and  not  of  any 
one  individual.  It  was  brought  to  its  present  degree  of  excellence  by 
the  united  deliberations  of  the  whole  Assembly;  but  its  concise  and 
logical  answers  are  supposed  to  have  been  finally  adjusted  by  Dr. 
Willis,  a  professor  at  Oxford,  and  one  of  the  most  distinguished  mathe- 
maticians of  his  day. 

The  Catechism  is  not  distinctively  Presbyterian,  as  it  is  confined 
exclusively  to  doctrine  and  does  not  touch  the  subject  of  Church 
Government.  It  has  been  adopted,  in  whole  or  in  part,  by  other 
churches  besides  the  Presbyterian,  and,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
of  the  answers,  is  the  creed  of  universal  Protestantism. 

It  is  divided  into  two  parts.  The  first  part,  to  the  36th  question, 
inclusive,  teaches  what  we  are  to  believe  concerning  God,  and  the 
remainder  what  duties  God  requires  of  us.  It  embraces  also  analyses 
and  expositions  of  the  Ten  Commandments  and  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

The  title  given  by  the  Assembly  was,  "The  Grounds  and  Principles 
of  Religion,  Contained  in  a  Shorter  Catechism."  The  Catechism  is, 
therefore,  a  systematic  statement  of  religious  truths — a  "body  of 
divinity."  Read  the  answers,  omitting  the  questions,  and  observe 
the  continuity.  How  grandly  it  begins:  "Man's  chief  end  is  to  glorify 
God  and  enjoy  him  forever. 

[176] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


"The  word  of  God,  which  is  contained  in  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  is  the  only  rule  to  direct  us  how  to  glorify, 
and  enjoy  him. 

"The  Scriptures  principally  teach  what  man  is  to  believe  con- 
cerning God  and  what  duty  God  requires  of  man. 

"God  is  a  spirit,  infinite,  eternal  and  unchangeable,  in  his  being, 
wisdom,  power,  holiness,  justice,  goodness  and  truth." 

Observe  also  the  completeness  and  yet  brevity  of  the  answers. 
There  is  not  a  surplus  or  an  unnecessary  word,  nor  a  word  absent  that 
ought  to  be  there  to  bring  out  the  meaning.  In  a  literary  point  of 
view,  and  as  specimens  of  the  exact  use  of  words,  the  answers  are 
unsurpassed. 

Examine  the  first  answer  for  a  moment.  Ancient  Stoics  and 
Epicurians  disputed  as  to  the  chief  purpose  of  life— the  object  that 
should  engage  the  attention  and  enlist  the  efforts  of  intelligent 
creatures;  and  some  modern  philosophers,  so  called,  assign  one  object 
and  some  another.  Here  we  are  taught  that  we  are  created,  first 
to  glorify  God.  God  made  all  things  for  His  own  glory,  not  as  an  arbi- 
trary and  selfish  tyrant,  but  as  a  beneficent  being,  for,  secondly,  He 
created  man  to  "enjoy  him  forever, "  offering  Himself  with  all  the 
riches  of  the  universe  for  the  enjoyment  of  His  creatures. 

The  second  answer  is  full  and  complete.  How  shall  we  learn  the 
way  of  duty  and  happiness?  From  our  reason?  Alas,  no.  The  reason  of 
the  wisest  of  men  often  misleads  them.  From  tradition,  or  the 
decrees  of  popes  and  councils?  Far  from  it.  But  from  the  "Word  of 
God,  which  is  contained  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments."    "The  Bible!  the  Bible!  the  religion  of  Protestants." 

In  the  third  answer  we  are  taught  that  the  Scriptures  reveal  to  us 
all  that  is  necessary  for  us  to  know  concerning  God,  and  fully  informs 
us  in  regard  to  the  duties  God  requires  of  us. 

We  are  almost  ready  to  believe  that  the  fourth  answer  was  given 
by  inspiration.  It  is  said  that  when  the  Assembly  came  to  the  ques- 
tion, "What  is  God?"  they  were  overcome  with  awe— a  finite  crea- 
ture to  give  a  definition  of  the  infinite  Creator !  Gillespie,  of  Scot- 
land, is  said  to  have  led  the  Assembly  in  prayer  for  divine  guidance, 
and  to  have  begun  thus  :  "O  God,  thou  art  a  Spirit,  infinite,  eternal 
and  unchangeable  in  thy  being,  wisdom,  power,  holiness,  justice, 
goodness  and  truth."  "When  he  ceased,"  says  Hetherington  in  his 
history  of  the  Assembly,  "the  first  sentence  of  the  prayer  was 
immediately  written  by  one  of  the  brethren,  read  and  adopted  as  the 
most  perfect  answer  that  could  be  conceived— as  indeed,  in  a  very 
sacred  sense,  God's  own  answer,  given  to  prayer  and  in  prayer, 
descriptive  of  Himself." 

[177] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Recent  investigations  render  it  somewhat  doubtful  whether  it  was 
Gillespie  who  led  the  meeting  in  prayer,  but  the  main  features  of  the 
anecdote  are  probably  true. 


All  the  cardinal  doctrines  of  religion  are  declared  and  defined. 
The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  :  "There  are  three  persons  in  the  God- 
head—the Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  these  three  are 
one  God,  the  same  in  substance,  equal  in  power  and  glory."  The 
divinity  and  humanity  of  Christ  are  distinctly  taught ;  also  the  sover- 
eignty of  God  and  the  free  agency  of  man;  the  doctrines  of  sin,  of 
the  atonement,  of  faith,  repentance,  justification,  sanctification  and 
adoption  ;  justification  an  act,  santification  a  work  — the  former 
instantaneous,  the  latter  progressive.  Adoption  is  defined  as  "an  act 
of  God's  free  grace,  whereby  we  were  received  into  the  number,  and 
have  a  right  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  sons  of  God." 

The  Catechism  is  invaluable  as  giving  definitions  of  Bible  terms. 
We  never  have  a  clear-cut  comprehension  of  any  idea  till  we  can 
express  it  in  words.  Till  then  our  perception  is  more  or  less  confused 
and  unsatisfactory.  We  hear  of  repentance,  faith,  justification, 
sanctification.  What  do  the  words  mean  ?  The  answers  are  in  the 
Catechism.  "Repentance  unto  life  is  a  saving  grace,  whereby  a 
sinner,  out  of  a  true  sense  of  his  sin,  and  apprehension  of  the  mercy 
of  God,  in  Christ,  doth,  with  grief  and  hatred  of  his  sin,  turn  from  it 
unto  God,  with  full  purpose  of  and  endeavor  after  new  obedience." 
There  is  not  a  word  about  "penance,"  undergoing  bodily  or  mental 
torture,  which  we  are  so  apt  to  associate  with  the  idea  of  repentance, 
as  a  preliminary,  if  not  necessary,  part  of  it. 

Then  as  to  faith,  I  have  heard  it  said  from  the  pulpit  that  faith  may 
be  described,  but  cannot  be  defined.  To  me,  however,  the  definition 
of  the  Catechism  is  entirely  satisfactory:  "Faith  in  Jesus  Christ  is  a 
saving  grace,  whereby  we  receive  and  rest  upon  Him  alone  for  salva- 
tion, as  he  is  oflFered  to  us  in  the  gospel. ' '  And  so  of  justification, 
sanctification,  etc. 

The  definition  of  sin  covers  the  whole  ground.  "Sin  is  any  want 
of  conformity  unto,  or  transgression  of,  the  law  of  God"— not  only 
doing  what  is  forbidden,  but  failing  to  do  what  is  required. 

Presbyterian  doctrine  is  sometimes  criticised  as  harsh  and  morose, 
giving  an  unattractive  view  of  God.  Let  us  see.  We  are  taught  in 
the  Catechism  that  "Prayer  is  an  offering  up  of  our  desires  unto  God, 
for  things  agreeable  to  his  will,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  with  confession 
of  our  sins,  and  thankful  acknowledgment  of  his  mercies."  And 
further:       "The    preface  of    the    Lord's    Prayer,    which    is     'Our 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Father  which  art  in  heaven, '  teaches  us  to  draw  near  to  God  with  all 
holy  reverence  and  confidence,  as  children  to  a  father,  able  and  ready 
to  help  us;  and  that  we  should  pray  with  and  for  others."  Can  any- 
thing be  more  winning  than  that?  The  Catechism  does  not  ignore 
any  of  God's  attributes.  It  declares  His  holiness  and  justice,  but  also 
sets  forth  His  mercy  to  fallen  and  guilty  man.  Very  different  this  from 
the  short  creed  of  a  certain  class  of  people  who  talk  much  about  the 
"Fatherhood  of  God"  and  appear  to  credit  the  Divine  Being  with  only 
one  moral  attribute,  that  of  indiscriminate  benevolence.  "Like  as  a 
father  pitieth  his  children,  so  the  Lord  pitieth"— whom?— "them  that 
fear  Him"— who  cherish  for  Him  filial  reverence  and  love. 

Let  us  look  at  a  few  other  answers:  "The  souls  of  believers  are, 
at  their  death,  made  perfect  in  holiness,  and  do  immediately  pass  into 
glory;  and  their  bodies  being  still  united  to  Christ,  do  rest  in  their 
graves  till  the  resurrection."  What  comfort  to  the  bereaved,  at  the 
open  grave,  is  the  fact  thus  declared,  that  the  bodies  of  the  dead, 
which  they  knew  and  loved,  are  not  cast  off  by  the  Heavenly  Father, 
but  are  "still  united  to  Christ,"  who  redeemed  and  cares  for  the  body 
as  well  as  the  soul. 

Take  the  21st  answer,  "The  only  redeemer  of  God's  elect  is  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  being  the  eternal  Son  of  God,  became  man, 
and  so  was  and  continueth  to  be,  God  and  man,  in  two  distinct  natures 
and  one  person  forever. ' '  Mark  the  word  '  'continueth. ' '  He  not  only 
was  man,  but  is  man.  We  are  disposed  to  dwell  almost  exclusively  on 
the  death  of  Christ,  and  sometimes  forget  that  He  rose  from  the  dead 
and  ascended  into  heaven.  We  rejoice  that  He  became  man  and 
suffered  in  our  stead,  and  often  overlook  the  fact  that  He  is  still  man 
as  well  as  God.  This  truth  is  beautifully  expressed  in  the  familiar 
hymn  of  the  Scotch  poet,  Michael  Bruce: 

Where  high  the  heavenly  temple  stands. 
The  house  of  God  not  made  with  hands, 
A  great  High  Priest  our  nature  wears. 
The  advocate  of  saints  appears. 

Though  now  ascended  up  on  high 
He  bends  on  earth  a  brother's  eye. 
Partakes  of  the  human  name. 
He  knows  the  frailty  of  our  frame. 

Shall  the  Catechism  take  the  place  of  the  Bible?  By  no  means. 
As  well  take  the  dictionary  in  place  of  all  works  of  literature. 
The  Catechism  is  only  a  summary  and  orderly  system  of  Bible 
truths,  and  definitions  of  Bible  terms.  We  must  read  and  meditate 
upon  the  Scriptures  as  the  source  of  all  religious  knowledge,  hope  and 
comfort.     But  the  Bible  is  not  a  system  of  theology.     It  is  framed 

[179] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH.    STAUNTON,  VA. 


like  God's  works  of  nature.  Flowers  are  scattered  thoughout  the 
world,  and  men  are  left  to  arrange  and  classify  them  and  form  a 
system  of  botany.  Shall  there  be  no  science  of  botany  because  the 
flowers  exist  already?  Shall  there  be  no  classification  and  definition  of 
Bible  terms  and  truth  because  the  truths  are  already  in  the  Bible? 
A  chief  object  of  the  Catechism  is  to  help  us  to  understand  the  Bible. 

The  Shorter  Catechism  was  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons 
on  the  25th  of  November,  1647,  and  the  Larger  on  the  14th  of  April, 
1648.  The  Confession,  Catechism  and  Form  of  Government  were 
formally  adopted  by  the  Parliament,  but  were  set  aside  in  England  in 
the  political  revolution  which  soon  afterwards  occurred.  We  are  told, 
however,  that  in  several  country  districts  in  England,  where  Presby- 
terians once  abounded,  schoolmasters  still  have  a  right  to  small  salaries, 
on  condition  that  they  shall  teach  the  children  the  Shorter  Catechism. 

Both  Catechisms  were  transmitted  to  Scotland,  and  were  approved 
by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  July,  1648.  The 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland  had  been  organized  nearly  a  hundred 
years  before  that  date.  And  at  this  day,  Scottish  Presbyterianism, 
split  as  it  is  into  three  great  sections,  yet  all  retain  their  hereditary 
regard  for  the  Shorter  Catechism,  which  has  been  long  used  as  the 
basis  of  education. 

Ask  a  genuine  Scotchman— not  a  renegade— the  first  question  of 
the  Catechism,  and  he  will  promptly  give  the  answer.  Ask  him 
further  to  repeat  the  23d  Psalm,  and  nine  chances  to  one  he  will  give 
it  to  you  in  Rouse's  Version: 

The  Lord's  my  shepherd,  I'll  not  want; 

He  makes  me  down  to  lie 
In  pastures  green:  He  leadeth  me 

The  quiet  waters  by. 

It  has  passed  into  a  proverb  that  Scotchmen  subsist  on  oatmeal 
and  the  Shorter  Catechism. 

The  great  Scotch  preacher.  Dr.  Guthrie,  visited  the  Jerusalem 
Chamber  in  which  the  Westminster  Assembly  sat,  and  writing  a  few 
days  afterwards  says:  "It  contains  the  oldest  picture  of  any  English 
King;  and,  in  the  Westminster  Assembly,  held  a  convention  of  the 
best,  greatest  and  wisest  men  that  perhaps  ever  met  on  this  earth.  I 
felt  there  as  if  I  stood  at  the  well-head  of  our  national  religion,  and 
of  those  moral  and  religious  influences  that  have  made  Scotland  and 
Scotchmen  what  they  are." 

The  doctrines  of  the  Catechism,  ardently  believed  in  by  the 
Covenanters,  nerved  those  sturdy  men  to  endure  the  persecutions  they 
suffered.  They  were  driven  to  take  refuge  in  caves,  they  were  shot 
down  on  mountains  and  moors,   tortued  by  the  boot  and  thumb-screw, 

1180] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


and  put  to  death  on  the  scaffold;  but  they  would  not,  by  word  or  act, 
tell  a  lie.  Frail  women  were  not  spared,  and  two  of  them,  tied  to 
stakes  in  the  water,  preferred  to  be  drowned  by  the  rising  tide  rather 
than  deny  their  faith. 

"At  all  times  a  man  who  will  do  faithfully  needs  to  believe  firmly," 
says  Thomas  Carlyle. 

The  Confession  and  Catechism  were  also  adopted  by  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Ireland,  and  from  that  country,  more  directly  than 
from  Scotland,  they  were  brought  to  America.  Wherever  the  Scotch 
and  Scotch-Irish  imigrants  have  gone,  these  standards  have  been 
carried.  The  early  Scotch-Irish  settlers  of  this  Valley  were  a  restless 
race,  often  breaking  up  and  moving  to  other  places;  and  whatever  they 
left  behind,  the  Confession  of  Faith  and  the  Shorter  Catechism  were 
not.  In  October,  1783,  a  large  party  of  Augusta  County  people 
assembled  at  Staunton— men,  women  and  children— preparatory  to 
starting  to  Kentucky  in  search  of  new  homes.  They  had  to  travel  on 
horse-back  through  the  wilderness,  by  a  circuitous  route  beset  by 
hostile  Indians  and  ravenous  beasts,  and  it  required  a  month's  time  to 
make  the  journey.  They  could  not  take  many  domestic  comforts  with 
them,  but  we  have  a  list  of  the  books  they  carried  along.  First  there 
was  the  Bible,  second  the  Confession  of  Faith  and  Shorter  Catechism, 
and  third  Rouse's  Version  of  the  Psalms  of  David. 

Objection  is  sometimes  made  to  requiring  children  to  commit  the 
Catechism  to  memory,  on  the  ground  that  they  do  not  understand  it. 
But  are  children  to  be  taught  nothing  they  do  not  understand?  If  so, 
they  will  make  slow  progress  in  education,  and  the  mind  will  be  kept  in  a 
state  of  perpetual  immaturity.  Many  a  school  boy  is  made  to  commit  to 
memory  the  rules  of  Latin  Grammar,  which  he  understands  as  Uttle  as 
he  does  the  Shorter  Catechism.  But  he  will  understand  them.  The 
Catechism  is  wholesome  nourishment  for  young  people,  although  they 
may  not  fully  digest  all  of  it  immediately;  and  for  grown  men  it  is 
strong  and  savory  food.  Safely  fixed  in  the  memory,  devout  persons 
find  the  answers  subjects  for  meditation  and  sources  of  help  and  com- 
fort throughout  life.  The  Scotch  writer,  Barrie,  in  one  of  his  recent 
works,  speaks  of  the  Shorter  Catechism  as  "one  of  the  noblest  of 
books,"  which  Scottish  children  were  accustomed  to  learn  by  heart, 
"not  understanding  it  at  the  time,  but  its  meaning  comes  long  after- 
wards and  suddenly,  when  you  have  most  need  of  it." 

A  venerable  elder  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  told  me  that,  when 
a  boy,  he  was  required  to  commit  the  Catechism  at  the  "old  field 
school"  he  attended.  He  learned  it  so  thoroughly  that  he  could 
answer  the  questions  and  recite  the  answers  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end,  and  then  ask  and  answer  from  the  end  to  the  beginning.     He 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


expressed  no  regret  that  be  had  been  thus  drilled,  but  spoke  of  it 
with  a  glowing  face  and  as  a  source  of  satisfaction  to  himself.  An 
aged  lady  living  in  this  town,  more  than  ninety  years  old,  blind  and 
deaf,  can  still  repeat  the  whole  Catechism  which  was  laid  up  in  her 
memory  during  childhood. 

The  celebrated  scholar,  Dr.  Schaff,  has  said,  "The  Shorter 
Catechism  is  one  of  the  three  typical  catechisms  of  Protestantism 
which  is  likely  to  last  to  the  end  of  time."  And  Thomas  Carlyle  said, 
"The  older  I  grow— and  I  now  stand  on  the  brink  of  eternity — the 
more  comes  back  to  me  the  first  sentence  of  the  Catechism,  which  I 
learned  when  a  child,  and  the  fuller  and  deeper  its  meaning  becomes: 

'What  is  the  chief  end  of  man? 

'Man's  chief  end  is  to  glorify  God  and  to  enjoy  him  forever.'  " 

Following  is  the  address  of  Rev,  G.  W.  Finley,  D.  D., 
of  Tinkling  Spring  Church  : 

THE  DOCTRINES  OF  CALVINISM  IN  NOTABLE  REVIVALS  OF  RELIGION 

The  place  given  in  the  rich  programme  of  this  occasion  to  the 
subject  about  which  I  am  to  speak  precludes  any  necessity  for  setting 
forth  in  detail  what  we  call  Calvinistic  Doctrines. 

We  would  have  you,  however,  to  observe  and  remember  that  they 
are  so  called  not  because  they  originated  with  John  Calvin— great  and 
good  man  as  he  was — or  were  first  taught  by  him.  For  they  can  be 
clearly  traced  back  through  the  centuries,  as  held  and  taught  by 
Anselm  (1033— 1109) ;  Augustine  (353-430);  by  inspired  Apostles  Paul, 
Peter  and  John;  by  Prophets  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  by  the 
Master  himself  when  in  the  flesh  he  trod  the  hills  of  Judea  and  walked 
by  the  bank  of  Gennesaret.  Calvin  only  stated  them  clearly  and 
fully  and  defended  them  with  most  signal  ability. 

That  doctrines  thus  found  in  both  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 
have  had  necessarily  a  large  place  and  mighty  power  in  beginning, 
promoting  and  testing  true  revivals  we  might  confidently  expect  and 
assert.  For  they  are  the  very  instrument  the  Holy  Spirit  is  engaged 
to  employ  in  awakening,  regenerating  and  sanctifying  sinners  "lost 
and  ruined  in  the  fall."  They  constitute  that  incorruptible  seed  "the 
word  of  God  which  liveth  and  abideth  forever,"  by  which  sinful  men 
are  born  into  the  kingdom^that  truth  by  which,  as  the  Great  Inter- 
cessor prayed,  they  are  to  be  sanctified. 

But  this  simple  argument  from  cause  to  effect,  however  conclu- 
sive to  us,  is  not  so  satisfactory  to  others.  Happily,  the  records,  both 
sacred  and  secular,  enable  us  to  employ  also  the  argument  from  effect 
to  cause. 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


If  we  examine  carefully  and  without  prejudice  the  outline  of 
Peter's  Pentecostal  sermon  (Acts  II)  we  can  not  fail  to  see  how  full  it  is 
of  just  the  truths  Calvinists  teach.  For  example  see  in  verse  23, 
God's  sovereignty  and  man's  free  agency,  "Him  being  delivered  by 
the  determinate  counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God,  ye  have  taken 
and  with  wicked  hands  have  crucified  and  slain."  And  again  in  verses 
32  and  33  see  God's  sovereign  grace  bestowed  upon  man  without  man's 
meritorious  co-operation  :  "This  Jesus  hath  God  raised  up,  whereof 
we  are  all  witnesses.  Therefore  being  by  the  right  hand  of  God 
exalted,  and  having  received  of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  he  hath  shed  forth  this  which  ye  now  see  and  hear." 

The  Apostle  Paul  assures  us  that  the  gospel  which  he  received 
not  after  man,  "but  by  the  revelations  of  Jesus  Christ,"  and  which 
he  delighted  to  preach  throughout  the  wide  regions  traversed  by  him 
and  his  colleagues,  and  through  God's  blessing  with  such  marvelous 
power,  was  the  very  same  as  that  recorded  in  his  Epistles;  that 
gospel  he  so  clearly  and  strikingly  summed  up  in  many  passages, 
notably,  such  as  Ephesions  II  chapter,  8-10  verses: 

"  For  by  grace  are  ye  saved  through  faith,  and  that  not  of  your- 
selves, it  is  the  gift  of  God!  Not  of  works,  lest  any  man  should 
boast.  For  we  are  his  workmanship,  created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto 
good  works,  which  God  hath  before  ordained  that  we  should  walk  in 
them."    Is  not  that  what  we  call  Calvinistic  doctrine,  pure  and  simple? 

The  pages  of  history  afford  abundant  proof  that  after  the  days  of 
the  Apostles  the  departure  from  or  denial  of  such  doctrines  gradually 
but  surely  opened  the  way  for  and  brought  on  the  long  dreary  night 
that  came  upon  the  Church  and  the  world — a  night  relieved  from  utter 
darkness  only  by  some  stars  kindled  here  and  there  by  God  to  shine 
with  the  light  of  His  own  truth.  These  pages  further  show  that  the 
Great  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century  had  its  birth  and  its 
marvellous  progress  in  the  return  to  those  doctrines  so  long  obscured 
by  the  errors  and  formalism  of  the  Roman  Catholic  and  the  Greek 
Churches.  Almost  every  great  leader  in  that  mighty  movement — 
Wycliffe,  of  England;  Huss,  of  Bohemia;  Jerome,  of  Prague — the  grand- 
fathers of  the  Reformation  as  they  have  been  called — as  well  as  the 
fathers,  Luther,  Melanchthon,  Zwingle,  Calvin,  Knox  and  Ford  were 
one  in  theology,  staunch  supporters  and  teachers  of  what  is  now  called 
Calvinism.  It  was  not  until  the  Reformation  had  taken  root  and 
spread  far  and  wide  throughout  Germany  and  other  lands  that  the 
unfortunate  divergence  in  views  arose  among  the  leaders,  which  along 
with  political  complications  so  marred  and  hindered  that  glorious  work. 
In  brief,  as  so  well  put  by  a  recent  writer  (Dr.  R.  C.  Reed)  "during 
the  most  critical  century  of  the  world's  history,    Calvinism  had  the 

[183] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


whole  field  to  itself.  There  was  absolutely  no  competing  system 
*        *        *        *  The  mightest  influence  for  good  that  emanated 

from  any  one  man  during  *  that  period  '  emanated  from  John  Calvin. 
His  thought  was  felt  by  Germany  and  Switzerland,  it  was  dominant 
among  the  Hugenots  of  France,  supreme  in  Holland,  fruitful  in 
England  and,  through  Knox,  moulded  Scotland." 

And  we  may  add,  however  much  the  world  of  to-day  may  delight 
in  misrepresenting  and  scoff'ing  at  Calvinistic  doctrines,  the  brightest 
glory  of  her  past,  the  choicest  privileges  of  her  present,  the  strongest 
and  most  inspiring  hopes  for  her  future  have  been  and  are  inseparably 
bound  up  with  the  reception  and  teaching  of  those  despised  doctrines. 

But,  my  friends,  I  suppose  that  the  object  in  bringing  our  topic  to 
the  front  at  this  time  was  to  show  something  of  the  place  and  power 
of  Calvinistic  doctrines  in  more  modern  notable  revivals.  And  here 
my  most  serious  difficulty  is  found  in  the  attempt  to  compress  within 
reasonable  limits  the  abundant  material  afforded  by  the  history  of 
revivals  for  the  last  350  years. 

In  searching  its  pages,  I  have  been  led  along  paths  which  have 
grown  more  and  more  fascinating,  crowded  as  they  were  with  proofs 
of  God's  own  seal  upon  the  doctrines  of  our  Standards  as  He  so  signally 
blessed  them  in  awakening  and  saving  such  multitudes  of  individual 
souls  and  in  arousing  sleeping  and  reviving  dying  churches. 

With  almost  the  force  of  a  mathematical  demonstration  these 
records  compel  the  conclusion  that  no  great  and  real  revival  of  relig- 
ion has  ever  begun  and  been  maintained  without  the  preaching  and 
teaching  of  the  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  distinctive  doctrines  of  Calvin- 
ism, and  that,  too,  even  by  some  who  in  theory  denied  and  rejected 
them. 

All  that  is  now  permitted  me  is  to  group  the  proofs  of  this  asser- 
tion around  the  three  Epochal  Revivals  found  in  the  17th,  18th  and 
19th  centuries. 

Epoch  I.  (17th  century)  The  1st  of  these  began  about  1625 
and  swept  over  large  portions  of  Scotland,  England  and  Ireland. 
It  appeared  first  in  the  parish  of  Stewarton,  in  Scotland,  of  which  Rev. 
Mr.  Castlelaw  was  pastor,  and  soon  attracted  much  attention  from 
friends  and  foes.  By  the  latter  it  was  derisively  called  the  "Stewar- 
ton sickness." 

The  principal  instruments  employed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  were  the 
Rev.  David  Dickson  of  the  neighboring  parish  of  Irvine,  and  Rev. 
Prof.  Robert  Blair,  of  Glasgow.  These  men,  well  known  as  sturdy 
Calvinists,  along  with  earnest  prayer  and  personal  conversation  sought 
in  their  preaching  to  arouse  the  consciences  of  their  hearers  to  bring 
them  to  some  proper  sense  of  the  exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin  and  their 

[184] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


own  helplessness  under  just  condemnation;  and  then  to  point  them  to 
Christ  and  His  gracious  and  complete  remedy  freely  offered  to  them  in 
His  gospel.  Fleming  in  his  "Work  on  the  Fulfilling  of  the  Sunday 
School"  shows  how  this  movement  spread  like  a  stream  increasing  as 
it  flows  until  its  blessed  influences  were  felt  in  many  parts  of  the  land. 
Those  who  came  and  witnessed  the  gladdening  sight  of  so  many 
turned  from  darkness  to  light  and  walking  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  and 
comfort  of  the  Holy  Ghost  took  courage  and  became  more  earnest 
than  ever  in  prayer  and  effort  for  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on 
other  parts  of  the  Church.  These  prayers  were  soon  and  richly 
answered  in  the  ever  memorable  revival  in  the  Kirk  of  Shotts  in 
Upper  Lanarkshire. 

A  number  of  ministers,  especially  from  those  who  were  then  under 
persecution  for  conscience  sake,  were  invited  to  assist  the  pastor  (the 
Rev.  Mr.  Hance)  at  a  communion  service  to  be  held  on  the  20th  of 
June,  1630.  Among  these  were  the  venerable  Robert  Bruce  and  John 
Livingstone,  a  young  licentiate  and  chaplain  to  the  Countess  of  Wigton. 
The  preparatory  services  and  the  communion  itself  were  so  marked 
by  the  presence  and  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  with  both  preachers  and 
people,  that  instead  of  retiring  to  rest  on  the  evening  of  the  Sabbath, 
they  gathered  in  little  companies  and  spent  the  whole  night  in  prayer 
and  praise  and,  contrary  to  usual  custom,  determined  to  have  a  sermon 
on  Monday. 

With  much  difficulty  young  Livingstone  was  prevailed  upon  to 
preach.  His  text  was  Ez.  XXXVI:  25-26  :  "Then  will  I  sprinkle  clear 
water  upon  you  and  ye  shall  be  clean,  from  all  your  filthiness  and  from 
all  your  idols  will  I  cleanse  you.  A  new  heart  will  I  give  you  and  a 
new  spirit  will  I  put  within  you  and  I  will  take  away  the  stony  heart 
out  of  your  flesh  and  I  will  give  you  an  heart  of  flesh."  Seldom  if 
ever  since  the  Day  of  Pentecost  was  such  effect  produced  by  a  single 
sermon.  Five  hundred  or  more  traced  their  conviction  and  conver- 
sion to  it,  whose  after  lives  attested  the  reality  of  the  change  wrought 
in  them  by  the  Holy  Spirit  through  that  word. 

Surely  we  need  not  pause  to  show  this  audience  how  every  clause, 
yea  every  word  of  Livingstone's  text  is  weighty  with  the  great  doc- 
trines which  men  now  call  Calvinistic. 

Man's  sore  need  in  his  entirely  ruined  and  helpless  condition  of  a 
change  which  God  only  can  bring  about  and  which  He  pledges  Himself 
to  effect,  stands  out  clearly,  not  only  from  the  text  itself,  but  from 
the  whole  passage  from  which  it  is  taken  (from  the  16th  verse  to  the 
end  of  the  chapter)  as  has  been  so  fully  and  beautifully  shown  by  a 
later  son  of  Scotland— that  prince  among  preachers— Dr.  Thos. 
Guthrie,  in  his  admirable  book,  "The  Gospel  in  Ezekiel." 

[185] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


The  influence  of  such  doctrines  was  not  only  signally  seen  and  felt 
on  that  day  in  the  Kirkyard  at  Shotts,  but,  as  Fleming  and  others 
tell  us,  was  carried  by  many  who  were  gathered  there  to  other  and 
distant  parishes  and  even  beyond  the  seas,  where  deep  and  lasting 
effects  were  produced.  There  seems  to  have  been  a  close  relation 
between  these  remarkable  movements  in  Scotland  and  those  which 
occurred  almost  simultaneously  in  the  Province  of  Ulster  in  the  North 
of  Ireland  to  which  under,  God,  the  churches  in  this  Valley,  through 
the  ancestors  of  many,  if  not  the  large  majority,  of  their  present 
members,  are  so  largely  indebted. 

For  we  find  as  honored  and  blessed  instruments  in  that  revival,  out 
of  which  grew  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Ireland,  which  in  time  so 
potently  affected  the  earher  history  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
this  country,  the  same  Robert  Blair  and  John  Livingstone,  of  whom  we 
have  spoken  above,  with  others,  driven  from  Scotland  and  England  by 
persecution,  laboring  in  the  same  way  and  employing  the  same  great 
doctrines  of  Sin  and  Redemption  which  God  had  owned  and  blessed  in 
their  native  land.  As  the  historians  of  this  period  tell  us,  the  religious 
sentiments  of  all  these  men  conspicuous  in  this  great  work,  were  those 
usually  called  Calvinistic  and  which  were  at  that  time  maintained 
throughout  the  three  National  Churches  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

While  England  may  not,  during  this  epoch  exhibit  to  much  extent 
the  distinctive  revival  features  which  marked  the  progress  of  true 
religion  in  Scotland  and  Ireland,  she  yet,  through  God's  goodness, 
furnished  a  noble  band  of  confessors  whose  labors  in  expounding  and 
defending  "  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints  "  have  never  been 
surpassed  if  ever  equaled.  Their  writings  packed  with  more  or  less 
clear-cut  Calvinistic  teachings  have  been  and  are  still  most  powerful 
in  stimulating,  guiding  and  nourishing  spiritual  life.  In  proof  we 
need  only  mention  Bunyan  with  his  "  Pilgrim's  Progress";  Baxter, 
with  his  "  Reformed  Pastor  and  Call  to  the  Unconverted";  the  saintly 
Owen,  with  his  "  Works  on  Regeneration,  Justification  and  the  Holy 
Spirit";  Flarce,  with  his  "Fountain  of  Life";  AUeine,  with  his 
"Alarm";  Hume,  with  his  noble  work  on  "The  Living  Temple. " 

As  we  try  to  measure  the  influence  exerted  upon  them  and  their 
cotemporaries  and  upon  succeeding  generations  by  the  doctrines  they 
held  and  taught,  well  may  we  exclaim  (with  one  to  whom  we  are  in- 
debted for  much  of  the  material  we  are  using  to-day — Dr.  Haman 
Humphrey  in  his  "Revival  Sketches,  Etc."):  "What  would  our  own 
land  and  Great  Britian  have  been  but  for  this  revival  period  in  the  17th 
century  ?  Who  can  tell  how  much  of  the  seed  that  was  then  sown 
sprang  up  and  bore  such  precious  fruit  in  the  18th  century  to  which  we 
now  turn." 

[186] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Epoch  II  (in  the  18th  century).  About  the  close  of  the  17th  and 
beginning  of  the  18th  centuries  most  of  the  churches  were  in  a  deplor- 
ably low  estate.  The  old  style  of  preaching  was  laid  aside  and  cold 
formal  addresses  had  become  fashionable.  The  testimony  of  such 
witnesses  as  Drs.  Burnet,  Watts  and  Doddridge  confirms  Archbishop 
Leigh  ton  when  he  says:  "The  Church  is  a  fair  carcass  without  a 
spirit."  Historians  give  us  the  dark  lines  which  show  that  the 
"higher  classes  laughed  at  piety  and  prided  themselves  upon  being 
above  what  they  called  its  fanaticism  ;  the  lower  classes  were  grossly 
ignorant  and  abandoned  to  vice,  while  the  Church  enervated  by 
universal  declension  was  unable  longer  to  give  countenance  to  the 
downfallen  cause  of  truth."  But  that  dark  night  was  in  God's  great 
mercy  to  give  way  to  a  glorious  day. 

About  1730,  almost  simultaneously  a  blessing  was  poured  out  upon 
England,  Scotland  and  America,  so  wonderful  that  it  is  still  known  as 
"The  Great  Awakening." 

In  Scotland  and  notably  at  Kilsyth  and  Camburslang  the  way  was 
prepared  by  a  long  series  of  sermons  on  subjects  which  explained  the 
nature  and  showed  the  necessity  of  regeneration  preached  by  the  pas- 
tors Robe  and  McCullogh.  These,  with  such  ministers  as  Bonar,  White- 
field,  Hamilton  and  others  of  like  mind  with  them,  bore  an  honored 
and  conspicuous  part  in  the  revival  that  followed  and  saw  extending 
over  the  land  the  rich  fruits  of  the  Spirit  in  the  lives  of  the  people. 

In  England  a  little  band  of  devout  students  at  Oxford,  whose 
diligent  efi'orts  to  learn  more  fully  the  Scriptural  way  of  life  and  strict 
attention  to  and  zeal  in  the  performance  of  its  duties,  earned  for 
them  the  nickname  of  "Methodists"  furnished  the  three  most  promi- 
nent and  effective  instruments  used  by  the  Lord  in  the  great  work  in 
that  country,  namely  :  John  and  Charles  Wesley  and  George  White- 
field. 

Of  these  Whitefield  was  pre-eminently  the  preacher,  Charles  Wes- 
ley the  sweet  singer,  and  John  Wesley  the  organizer.  Finding  the 
pulpits  of  the  Established  Church,  of  which  they  were  ministers, 
closed  against  them,  Whitefield,  at  first  alone,  and  afterwards  the 
Wesleys,  with  Richard  and  Rowland  Hill  and  others,  preached  in  the 
fields  to  large,  sometimes  immense  audiences.  As  the  historian, 
Green,  tells  us  they  preached  with  a  burning  zeal,  and  such  earnest- 
ness of  belief,  a  sympathy  with  the  sin  and  sorrow  of  mankind  so 
deep  and  tremulous  as  to  hush  criticism.  They  carried  and  pro- 
claimed their  glad  message  everywhere,  "in  the  wildest  and  most 
barbarous  corners  of  the  land,  among  the  bleak  moors  of  Northumber- 
land, in  the  dens  of  London,  and  in  the  long  galleries  where  the  Corn- 
ish miner  hears  in  the  pauses  of  his  labor  the  sobbing  of  the  sea'' 
above  his  head. 

[187] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


The  success  which  God  gave  them  is  too  well  known  to  need  recital 
here  while,  as  you  are  all  aware,  Whitefield  and  the  Wesleys  did  not 
agree  upon  some  of  the  doctrines  preached  and  at  one  time  their  differ- 
ences threatened  lasting  separation  and  alienation,  yet  mutual  for- 
bearance and  charity  prevented  this  and  they  continued  to  labor  together, 
each  declaring  there  was  no  time  to  dispute  such  points  while  sinners 
were  perishing.  It  is  abundantly  shown  by  the  records  they  left  of 
their  labors  that  Wesley  held  and  preached  the  same  great  doctrines 
of  the  Fall  and  man's  condition  as  a  sinner  since  the  Fall  as  earnestly 
and  freely  as  Whitefield,  and  refrained,  as,  for  instance,  when  in  his 
work  in  Scotland  from  giving  prominence  to  the  doctrines  about  which 
they  differed  (see  Life  of  Wesley  by  his  pupil  and  friend  Henry  Moore 
Vol.  II  p.  145)  and  in  his  prayers  rejoiced  to  exalt  God  upon  the  throne 
as  heartily  as  ever  Whitefield  and  Hill  did,  while  they  preached  the 
free  offer  of  salvation  as  freely  as  ever  Wesley  or  Fletcher  did.  In 
Wales  the  godly  Howell  Harris,  aided  by  the  renowned  David  Row- 
lands and  followed  by  Thomas  Charles,  were  used  by  God  in  a  revival 
which,  as  one  of  its  fruits,  shows  that  large  body  of  Christians  then  as 
now  known  as  "  Welsh  Calvinistic  Methodists." 

No  one  familiar  at  all  with  the  religious  history  of  Great  Britain 
during  that  period  can  recall  such  names  as  we  have  mentioned  along 
with  Berridge,  Romaine,  John  Newton  and  Scott,  the  commentator, 
and  many  others  can  deny  to  Calvinistic  doctrines  a  large  if  not  the 
chief  place  and  power  in  rousing  the  cold  and  almost  dead  Church  of 
that  day  and  in  bringing  about  the  mighty  change  which  was  seen  in 
the  lives  of  countless  thousands  in  and  out  of  the  National  Church. 

When  we  cross  the  Atlantic  and  follow  this  "Great  Awakening  " 
throughout  New  England,  New  Jersey,  Virginia  and  other  parts  of 
the  Colonies  of  Great  Britain  in^America  and  see  such  men  as  Jonathan 
Edwards,  Whitefield,  David  Brainard,  the  Tennents,  Blair,  Dickinson 
and  a  host  like  them  so  preaching  the  Word  in  the  demonstration  and 
power  of  the  Spirit  as  to  bring,  as  was  then  estimated,  at  least  50,000 
of  the  2,000,000  of  the  population  of  the  Colonies  to  a  hopeful  confes- 
sion of  faith  in  Jesus  Christ;  we  must  reach  the  same  conclusion  as  to 
the  power  and  place  of  Calvinism  in  that  mighty  work.  For  even  a 
cursory  examination  of  the  records  of  that  period  with  the  texts  and 
sermons  that  have  come  down  to  us  will  show  how  general  was  the 
revival  and  use  of  the  cardinal  doctrines  of  the  Reformation  in  the 
preaching  of  the  distinguished  ministers  under  whom  that  work  was 
carried  on. 

The  Rev.  Jonathan  Dickenson,  of  New  Jersey,  but  voices  the  gen- 
eral opinion  when  he  says,  '  'the  subjects  chiefly  insisted  on  were  the 
sin  and  apostasy  of  mankind  in  Adam;  the  blindness  of  the  natural 

[188] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH.   STAUNTON,  VA. 


man  in  the  things  of  God;  the  enmity  of  the  carnal  mind;  the  evil  of 
sin,  the  desert  of  it,  and  the  utter  inability  of  the  fallen  creature  to 
relieve  itself;  the  sovereignty  of  God;  the  way  of  redemption  by 
Christ;  justification  through  His  imputed  righteousnesss  secured  by 
faith,  this  faith  the  gift  of  God  and  a  living  principle  that  worketh  by 
love;  the  nature  and  necessity  of  regeneration  and  santification  by  the 
Holy  Spirit;  and  that  without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord." 

Thus  did  God,  ever  mindful  of  His  covenant,  through  His  own  truth 
and  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  work  that  mighty  work  of  grace 
whose  fruit  in  many  forms  still  "shakes  like  Lebanon"  and  blesses 
our  own  and  other  lands. 

Epoch  III  (19th  century).  After  the  "Great  Awakening, "  of 
which  we  have  just  been  speaking,  there  came  another  season  of 
declension  brought  about  largely  by  the  French  and  Indian  Wars,  the 
Revolutionary  War,  and  the  convulsions  of  Europe  preceding  and 
accompanying  the  French  Revolution,  with  all  of  its  blatant  infidelity. 
But  God  in  mercy  again  interposed  and  gave  the  Great  Revival  of  1800, 
extending  from  about  1790  to  1840.  It  was  felt  not  only  in  England 
and  Scotland,  but  reached  almost  every  part  of  the  United  States  and 
Canada.  In  our  own  land.  New  England  and  New  York,  but  especially 
Western  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  the 
Carolinas  were  widely  and  deeply  moved. 

The  time  allotted  me,  and  your  patience  will  not  suffer  me  to  go 
into  particulars,  but  whether  we  regard  the  human  instruments 
employed,  such  as  John  Newton,  Rowland  Hill,  Andrew  Fuller,  and 
the  brothers,  Robert  and  James  Haldane,  in  England  and  Scotland, 
with  Asahel  Nettleton,  John  Griflfen,  William  Graham,  James  Turner, 
John  Blair  Smith,  George  Baxter  and  James  McGrady,  in  America,  or 
look  upon  the  men  then  brought  to  know  and  accept  Christ  and  in  after 
years  to  become  His  ascension  gifts  to  His  Church,  such  as  Archibald 
Alexander,  William  Hill,  Conrad  Speice,  John  Holt  Rice  and  a  host 
of  others,  loved  and  honored  throughout  the  Church;  whether  we  con- 
sider the  multitudes  of  changed  hearts  and  homes  and  the  impulse 
then  given  to  Christian  and  Liberal  Education,  or  the  establishment  of 
agencies  for  and  increased  interest  in  the  work  of  the  Church,  this 
revival  must  be  acknowledged  one  of  the  richest  that  has  yet  occurred. 

Besides  the  well  known  doctrinal  sentiments  of  such  men  as  I 
have  named  we  have  this  further  proof  how  largely  Calvinistic 
doctrines  entered  into  the  means  employed  in  reaching  such  glorious 
results.  I  have  examined  the  testimony  of  fifteen  or  twenty  ministers 
from  different  parts  of  our  land  and  find  them  concurring  with  Dr. 
Humphrey  in  stating  that  the  preaching  which  held  up  before  men  the 
character  of  God,  the  strictness,  justice  and  terrible  penalty  of  His 

[189] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


law,  the  entire  and  dreadful  depravity  of  their  hearts,  the  absolute 
sovereignty  of  God  in  having  mercy  on  whom  He  will  have  mercy, 
regeneration  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  justification  by  faith  alone  was 
that  which  gave  tone  and  character  to  this  revival  and  was  so  richly 
blessed  of  God.  Surely  these  doctrines  are  Calvinistic  enough  for  the 
most  rigid  follower  of  the  great  German. 

Other  movements  have  followed  in  which  such  doctrines  have  had 
large  share  if  not  so  great  as  in  those  of  which  I  have  spoken.  But 
we  cannot  handle  them  now. 

Thus,  in  barest  outline,  we  have  traced  for  you  this  wonderful 
history.  Do  we  not  find  that  it  sustains  the  assertion  made  at  the 
beginning  of  this  address  that  no  great  and  real  revival  was  ever 
begun,  and  maintained  without  the  preaching  and  teaching  of  Calvin- 
istic doctrines?  In  the  face  of  such  proofs  ought  not  our  faith  in 
these  grand  and  awful  doctrines  to  be  confirmed,  and  should  we  not 
more  faithfully  use  and  rely  upon  them  in  seeking  to  do  the  Master's 
work  and  to  win  souls  for  Him? 

Is  not  one  great  need  of  the  Christianity  of  to-day,  as  well  as  of 
the  world  of  perishing  sinners  around  us  such  preaching,  (as  Mr. 
Gladstone  with  his  wonted  vigor  of  thought  and  phrase  has  recently 
pointed  out)  such  preaching  as  will  emphasize  and  make  clear  man's 
real  condition  as  a  lost  and  helpless  sinner?  With  the  slight  and  feeble 
conception  of  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  desire  which  now  finds 
expression  in  so  many  pulpits,  is  it  any  wonder  that  the  hurt  of  the 
people  is  so  slightly  healed?  "But,"  says  modern  taste  and  usage, 
"leave  those  dreadful  doctrines  of  the  sinner  in  the  hands  of  a  just 
and  angry  God,  and  tell  us  of  His  love."  Yes,  most  gladly  do  we 
preach  "  God  is  love,"  but  let  us  beware  lest  we  teach  that  "Love  is 
God."  And  never,  never  can  we  rightly  appreciate  His  unbounded 
love  until  we  learn  something  of  and  get  the  people  to  learn  the  real 
nature  and  consequences  of  that  sin  which  God  hates  and  His  justice 
requires  Him  to  permit,  from  which  in  His  love  He  would  save  us. 

The  acknowledged  failure  of  so  many  pulpits  and  teachers  to  press 
these  great  doctrines  is  in  itself  a  most  hopeful  prognostic  of  a  com- 
ing and  widespread  genuine  revival.  As  in  the  past,  so  in  the  future, 
God  will  interpose  and  save  His  Church  from  apostasy  and  the  world 
from  death  by  his  own  truth  made  quick  and  powerful  through  the 
Spirit's  presence  and  power  and  that  truth  will  be  found  again,  as  in 
the  past,  embodied  in  the  grand  old  doctrines  of  Calvinism. 


[190] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 

Following  is  the  address  of  Rev.  Francis  R.  Beattie, 
D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Professor  in  the  Presbyterian  Theological 
Seminary  of  Kentucky,  Louisville,  Kentucky: 

CALVINISM  AND  CIVIL  AND  RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY 

I  count  it  a  rare  privilege  to  speak  in  this  place,  on  this  occa- 
sion, and  upon  such  a  theme.  I  beg  to  thank  those  whose  cordial 
invitation,  very  gladly  accepted,  gives  me  this  high  privilege  on  this 
auspicious  hour.  I  dare  hardly  hope  that  the  performance  of  the  duty 
thus  imposed  will  be  worthy  the  occasion  and  this  audience. 

My  general  subject  is  '  'Calvinism  and  Liberty,  Civil  and  Religious. ' ' 
First  of  all  the  terms  must  be  defined. 

Calvinism  is  that  system  of  Christian  doctrine  and  life  which  is 
founded  upon  the  Word  of  God,  and  professes  to  set  forth,  in 
a  balanced  way  its  divine  teaching  concerning  God,  man  and  the 
universe.  Its  controlling  principle  is  the  sovereignty  of  a  holy,  wise 
and  loving  God,  ever  exercised  according  to  the  counsel  of  His  own 
will,  and  in  harmony  with  the  nature  with  which  He  has  endowed  the 
different  orders  of  His  creatures.  He  rules  over  nature,  He  directs  all 
human  affairs,  and  He  works  graciously  in  redemption.  As  to  the 
relations  of  God  and  man,  both  sovereignty  and  freedom  are  held, 
though  it  may  not  be  possible  to  adjust  these  two  facts  at  all  their 
points  of  contact.  As  to  man  it  holds  that  he  was  made  in  God's 
image,  but  has  become  apostate  from  God,  by  reason  of  sin,  and  is 
helpless  to  save  himself  either  from  the  guilt  or  the  power  of  sin. 
His  recovery  is,  therefore,  a  matter  of  grace,  according  to  the  elect- 
ing purpose  of  God,  which  is  conditioned,  not  upon  anything  in  the 
creature,  but  only  upon  the  secret  counsel  of  God.  To  make  this 
purpose  effective  Jesus  Christ  comes  to  be  a  Mediator  and  Redeemer, 
and,  by  His  atonement  and  intercessions,  to  make  effective  the  pur- 
pose of  grace,  according  to  election,  in  all  the  elect.  In  like  manner 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  sent  to  make  effectual  the  work  of  Christ,  in  the 
heirs  of  salvation,  so  that  they  are  regenerated  and  united  to  Christ 
unto  their  assured  salvation.  This  good  work  thus  begun  will  be 
surely  finished  in  the  case  of  all  of  the  elect,  redeemed,  regenerated, 
beheving  souls.  Calvinism  has  also  its  ideal  for  human  life  and 
society.  To  live  for  the  glory  of  God  is  that  ideal,  and  direct  respon- 
sibility of  the  individual  soul  to  God  is  emphasized.  Its  idea  of  citizen- 
ship also  emerges.  If  the  Christian  man  is  a  freeman  in  Christ  in 
the  Church,  and  has  the  right  of  self-government  there,  he  has  the 
like  freedom  under  civil   government,  another  right  of  self-govern- 


[191] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


ment  also.  Hence  Calvinism  is  a  philosophy  of  the  universe,  of  man- 
kind, of  redemption,  and  of  national  governments,  as  such  it  is  all 
inclusive. 

By  liberty  we  mean  the  right  to  exercise  our  powers  freely,  so 
long  as  the  rights  of  others  are  not  interf erred  with  thereby.  In  the 
sphere  of  government  this  implies  the  right  of  self-government,  and 
the  duty  of  protection  in  the  exercise  of  these  rights.  In  the  realm 
of  religion  this  is  religious  liberty.  In  the  sphere  of  the  State  this 
means  civil  liberty.  The  former  is  in  harmony  with  Presbyterianism 
and  the  latter  with  representative  or  republican  civil  rule.  Liberty 
in  both  spheres  is  freedom  without  license,  and  freedom  without 
tyranny.  It  is  the  golden  mean  between  these  extremes,  and  it 
balances  right  and  duties  according  to  the  divine  ideal  given  in  the 
Word  of  God. 

We  are  now  to  try  to  show  the  relations  between  Calvinism  and 
liberty  at  both  spheres.  In  particular  we  shall  undertake  to  make 
good  the  contention  that  no  interpretation  of  the  facts  of  Christian 
religion  has  done  so  much  or  is  suited  to  do  as  much  for  civil  and 
religious  liberties  the  world  over  as  Calvinism  has.  It  has  been  con- 
ducive to  true  liberty  in  all  ages.  There  are  two  lines  of  exposition 
and  illustration  which  naturally  open  before  us.  One  raises  the 
inquiry  whether  historically  the  facts  sustain  this  position.  The 
other  inquires  whether  in  the  system  itself,  there  are  those  features 
which  might  be  expected  to  generate  civil  and  religious  liberty  when 
they  were  wrought  out  in  human  life.  The  former  is  the  his- 
torical and  the  latter  the  expository.     We  follow  out  each  a  little. 

I.  The  Verdict  of  History.  In  general  it  may  be  said  that 
men  of  Calvinistic  principles  have  fought  and  won  the  world's  battle 
for  civil  and  religious  freedom.  The  reformed  system  of  doctrine, 
which  is  the  Calvinistic  type,  and  the  Presbyterian  polity,  which  is  the 
representative  form  of  government,  have  borne  the  brunt  of  many  a 
hard  fought  fight,  and  in  the  end  have  gotten  the  victory,  whether  it 
be  against  civil  oppression,  or  ecclesiastical  tyranny.  Four  great 
examples  will  fully  justify  this  assertion. 

First,  the  case  of  Calvin  and  Geneva.  Prior  to  the  remarkable 
work  at  Geneva  the  people  were  in  sore  confusion  in  their  civil  affairs. 
Then  after  they  had  banished  him  practically  for  a  time,  they  had  to 
send  for  him  to  come  back  to  their  aid  again.  After  he  returned  and 
had  an  opportunity  to  put  into  effect  his  ideas  of  freedom  and  civil 
government,  Geneva  soon  became  one  of  the  best  regulated  places  in 
all  Europe.  Neither  the  tyranny  of  Rome  nor  the  license  of  a  godless 
government  was  permitted,  and  the  influence  of  Calvin  spread  to 
France,  and  among  the  French  Calvinists,  known  as  the  Huguenots,  the 

[192] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


same  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  spread  which  did  much  to 
make  France  what  she  was  in  the  days  of  Coligny,  and  the  darkest 
day  for  civil  liberty  in  France  was  the  fateful  St.  Bartholomew's  Day, 
when  the  best  Protestant  blood,  and  it  was  Calvinistic,  was  shed. 

Secondly,  in  the  Netherlands  we  have  another  memorable  example 
of  the  influence  of  Calvinism  on  Civil  and  Religious  liberty.  This 
little  Calvinistic  band,  not  numerous,  nor  rich  in  worldly  goods,  but 
strong  in  faith  and  rich  in  noble  deeds  withstood  and  finally  baffled 
the  proud  armies  of  Philip  of  Spain,  with  the  power  of  the  Romish 
hierarchy  behind  him.  This  story,  as  told  by  Motley  is  more  thrilling 
than  any  romance,  and  the  career  of  William  the  Silent,  and  William, 
Prince  of  Orange,  will  never  be  surpassed  in  the  history  of  heroic  and 
persistent  struggle  in  defense  of  human  freedom.  Their  struggle  not 
only  made  the  Dutch  Republic,  but  did  much  for  freedom  in  Britain 
and  America,  and  Calvinism  was  the  type  of  the  Christian  faith 
which  made  these  heroic  and  unconquerable  men. 

The   Puritan  struggle  in  Britain,    alike  in  England  and  Scotland, 
together  with  the  Revolution  in  1688,  A.  D.,  is  one  of  the  most  strik- 
ing proofs  of  the  historic  fact  that  Calvinism  tends  to  secure  civil  and 
religious  liberty.     For  some  time  before  the  Puritan  movement  took 
definite  shape,  influences  from  Geneva  and  Holland  were  operating  on 
many  minds  in  both  England  and  Scotland,  and  in  the  latter  country 
the  influence  of   Knox  became  paramount.     Hence   it  was  that   ever 
against  spiritual  tyranny  in  matters  of  religion,  and  civil  despotism 
in  matters  of  the  state,  there  came  a  pronounced  revolt.     Against  the 
divine  right  of  the  king  it  was  asserted   that  the    people   also  had 
divine  rights  in  regard  to  civil  government ;  against  the  absolutism  of 
bishops  it  was  claimed  that  the  Christian  was  a  freeman  in  Christ 
and  had  a  right  to  a  voice  in  spiritual  affairs.     Both  of  these  great 
truths  are  of  Calvinistic  origin,  and  when  they  were  wrought  into  the 
minds  of  the  people  of  the  British  Islands  and  translated  into  actions, 
absolutism  in  both  Church  and  State  heard  its  death-knell.     What 
the  whole   world  owes  to   the   Puritan  struggle  can   never  be  over- 
estimated.    Our  own  age  lives  in  the  light  of  the  liberties  that  were 
then  won  for  the  people,  by  the  people,  in  a  struggle  that  was  heroic 
indeed. 

The  last  example  from  history  which  we  adduce  is  that  of  this 
country.  This  in  many  respects  is  but  the  result  of  what  has  already 
been  described,  for  Calvinism,  as  Froude  says,  founded  the  American 
Republic.  Men  of  this  type  had  certainly  much  to  do  with  laying 
the  foundation  of  the  fabric  of  freedom  in  the  American  Colonies, 
and  with  the  origin  and  successful  issue  of  the  American  Revolution. 
Huguenots    from   France,    Dutchmen   from   Holland,  Puritans  from 

[193] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


England,  Scotchmen  from  Scotland,  and  Scotch-Irishmen  from  Ireland 
were  the  men  who  laid  these  foundations,  and  who  fought  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  to  its  finish.  Driven  by  oppression  from  their  native 
lands,  and  carrying  the  principles  which  Calvinism  had  planted  in  their 
souls,  they  found  in  this  wild  land  a  fit  home  for  their  planting  and 
development.  Hence  when  prelates  assumed  unlawful  authority, 
and  the  king  would  tax  the  people  without  their  permission,  they 
resisted.  Hence  the  contest  which  resulted  in  a  free  Church,  in  a 
free  State,  in  a  free  land. 

These  instances  fully  establish  the  fact  that  Calvinism  has  framed, 
fought,  and  won  the  world's  contest  for  civil  and  religious  liberty. 
Were  time  taken  to  draw  the  contrast  between  nations  which  have 
felt  its  potent  power  and  those  that  have  not,  the  case  would  be  still 
clearer,  and  the  conclusion  more  fully  seen.  Let  the  Latin  races  and 
Romish  lands  in  contrast  with  Anglo-Saxon  races  and  reformed  lands 
to-day  tell  the  full  story.  Calvinistic  Protestantism,  has  ever  been 
the  potent  factor  in  the  story. 

II.  The  Elemental  Causes.  We  now  raise  the  question  as  to 
whether  there  are  elements  in  this  Calvinistic  system  which  naturally 
lead  to  what  we  have  seen  concerning  its  historical  effects  ?  Was  it 
merely  a  coincidence  that  Calvinism  and  liberty  were  joined  in  Geneva, 
in  Holland,  in  Britian  and  in  America?  Or  did  other  agencies  than 
Calvinism  produce  these  splendid  results?  Some  brief  analysis  of  the 
contents  of  the  system  itself  may  go  to  show  that  Calvinism  and 
liberty  in  Church  and  State  most  surely  are  married  together. 

First,  the  fundamental  fact  of  the  absolute  sovereignty  of  God 
had  its  influence.  God  was  over  all  blessed  for  evermore,  He  was 
ruler  of  the  universe  and  King  of  Kings.  This  carried  along  with  it 
the  inevitable  conviction  that  man  was  responsible  first  of  all,  and 
most  of  all,  to  God  who  is  high  over  all  blessed  for  evermore.  Men 
controlled  by  this  conviction  could  not  but  resist  any  assumption  of 
absolute  authority  over  them  on  the  part  of  men.  The  Calvinistic 
system  brought  the  sense  of  God  and  duty  right  into  the  very  lives  of 
men,  and  became  theirs  to  obey  God  rather  than  to  render  slavish  obe- 
dience to  men  against  conscience. 

Secondly,  for  the  truly  Christian  man,  the  fact  of  gracious,  un- 
conditional election  carried  with  it  the  same  result.  When  the 
Christian  felt  that  he  had  been  chosen  in  Christ  unto  holiness  and 
eternal  life,  there  came  into  his  experience  a  sense  of  dignity,  that 
would  not  brook  oppression.  And  the  Christian  realized  that  he  was 
a  freeman  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  had  given  to  him  citizenship  in  the 
heavenly  kingdom.  Calvinism  enfranchizes  men  with  the  right  of 
self  government  under  God  in  both  Church  and  State. 

[194] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


Thirdly,  the  high  and  controlling  place  given  by  Calvinism  to  the 
Word  of  God  and  to  the  right  of  every  man  to  read  it  and  apply  it 
himself  further  conduced  to  the  fostering  of  freedom.  The  authority 
of  Holy  Scripture,  and  the  right  of  private  judgment  by  the  people 
were  potent  factors  in  this  direction.  The  people  would  refuse  to 
bow  before  human  authority  if  in  conflict  with  the  teaching  of  the 
Word  of  God.  And  in  the  exercise  of  private  judgment  therein  in- 
volved, the  independence  of  the  personality  of  the  Christian  man  was 
cultivated.  Such  men  were  bound  to  be  the  Lord's  freemen  in  all  the 
relations  of  life.  They  were  capable  of  self  government,  and  restive 
under  tyranny.  Calvinism,  more  than  any  other  system,  has  this 
effect,  and  so  was  fruitful  in  freedom  in  the  world  for  the  children  of 
men. 

Fourthly,  the  well  defined  separation  between  Church  and  State 
which  Calvinism,  more  than  any  other  system,  makes  plain,  had  its 
influences  also  in  the  same  direction.  Calvinism  caught  the  meaning 
of  our  Lord's  teaching  about  the  things  of  Caesar  and  the  things  of 
God.  It  could,  therefore,  enjoin  both  duties  without  any  conflict.  It 
refused  to  allow  the  Church  to  lord  it  over  the  State  and  hence  was 
inflexibly  opposed  to  Romish  pretension.  It  also  declined  to  admit  that 
the  State  should  exercise  unlawful  authority  over  the  Church,  and  thus 
it  was  inevitably  in  antagonism  to  all  phases  of  Erastianism.  The 
ordinance  of  civil  government  the  Calvinist  taught  was  of  God,  and  the 
citizen  was  under  this  only  so  far  as  it  did  not  seek  to  compel  obedience 
which  was  against  the  law  of  God.  It  taught  the  great  principle  that 
God  alone  was  Lord  of  conscience,  which  is  thus  set  free  from  the  com- 
mandments of  men.  Hence  civil  liberty  is  secured.  The  conscience 
is  also  free  from  the  commandments  of  men  in  matters  of  religion. 
Hence  religious  liberty  is  guaranteed.  This  great  principle  is  one  which 
should  be  dear  to  mankind  even  to  death  to  every  true  liberty  loving 
soul. 

Fifthly,  the  representative  form  of  Church  government  which 
Calvinism  always  implies,  had  much  practical  effect  in  fostering 
freedom  in  Church  and  State  and  in  making  men  capable  of  self 
government  in  both  relations. 

If  Calvinism  gives  the  franchise  to  the  people,  this  means  that 
the  people  shall  govern  themselves  in  a  properly  constituted  way  in 
both  civil  and  religious  affairs.  Hence  republicanism  in  State, 
and  Presbyterianism  in  Church  are  the  logical  consequences  of 
Calvinism.  If  there  be  a  monarchy,  Calvinism  will  demand  that  it 
shall  be  a  limited  monarchy  where  the  rights  of  constitutional  govern- 
ment are  fully  recognized.  No  other  type  of  monarchy  will  long  stand 
before  Calvinism,    If  there  be  Prelacy  in  the  Church,  either  that  Pre- 

[195] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


lacy  must  become  greatly  modified  in  its  working  or  Calvinism  will  be 
crushed  out  of  the  creed.  Armenianism  may  stand  oppression  but  Cal- 
vinism never.  It  will  rise  in  its  holy  might  and  divine  right,  and  make 
an  end  of  absolutism  everywhere. 

Lastly,  the  stress  laid  upon  education  and  intelligence  among  the 
people  by  Calvinism  has  had  its  influence  also.  Calvinists  have  always 
been  the  patrons  of  learning  and  the  founders  of  schools  and  colleges 
for  all  the  people,  The  parish  school  beside  the  parish  church,  had 
its  potent  influence.  The  catechetical  instruction  of  the  young,  the 
strong  preaching  to  the  adult  all  fostered  a  mental  discipline  which 
made  men  strong  and  intelligent,  and  able  to  judge  for  themselves  in 
matters  of  civil  interest  and  religious  moment.  Such  people  could 
not  remain  under  mere  tutelage  to  either  priest  or  king.  They  were 
fit  for  self  government,  and  would  claim  the  right  to  possess  and  ex- 
ercise it.  Couple  with  this  that  Calvinism  has  always  inculcated  high 
ideals  of  character  and  conduct,  and  the  force  of  this  consideration  is 
all  the  greater.  Calvinism  trained  the  head,  it  cultivated  the  heart, 
and  it  disciplined  the  life,  so  that  its  adherents  were  bound  to  be  the 
heralds  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  everywhere.  Such  is  but  an  out- 
line of  the  subject. 

Such,  my  friends,  is  the  heritage  which  has  come  to  us.  Let  us 
value  it  at  its  true  worth.  Let  us  ever  praise  the  men  who  won  all 
these  liberties  for  us.  Let  us  ever  be  mindful  of  the  Providence  that 
gave  us  this  priceless  possession  in  this  land.  Above  all  let  us  cherish 
the  principles  of  our  historic  Calvinism,  as  so  well  stated  and  on  our 
standards,  and  hand  this  glorious  heritage  untarnished  and  enhanced 
to  our  children  and  our  children's  children. 


Note — When  delivered,  at  the  Westminster  Celebration  in  Staunton,  Virginia,  this 
address  was  spoken  from  brief  notes.  After  the  lapse  of  five  years  it  is  reproduced  in 
substance.  It  is  proper  to  say  that  much  that  belonged  to  the  inspiration  of  the  occa- 
sion, and  to  the  freedom  of  extempore  utterance  is  lost.  It  is  hoped  that  the  substance 
of  the  teaching  of  the  address  is  here  reproduced  in  outline  ;  and  that  it  may  be  useful 
for  its  intended  purpose. — F.  R.  B. 


[196] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


The  following  poem  was  read  by  Rev.  R.  A.  Lapsley, 
of  Greenville,  Virginia: 

THE  COVENANTERS— THE  FIRST  GENERATION  RAISED  ON  THE 
SHORTER  CATECHISM 

In  the  year  Sixteen  Hundred  and  Forty-seven, 

A  little  book  to  the  world  was  given  ; 

The  fruit  of  four  years  of  prayer  and  thought 

By  that  Godly  Assennbly,  who  earnestly  sought 

To  put  before  men  within  easy  reach 

Those  truths  which  the  Scriptures  principally  teach. 

In  England,  the  land  where  this  book  saw  the  light, 
Its  hold  on  the  people  was  short  and  slight  ; 
Not  so  in  Scotland— the  highest  place. 
In  the  hearts  of  men  of  the  Scottish  race 
Next  to  God's  Word,  was  early  given 
To  this  book,  born  in  1647. 

Nor  only  in  Scotland— wherever  on  earth 

There's  a  child  of  Presbyterian  birth, 

Reared  in  the  good  old-fashioned  way, 

Made  to  "  toe  the  mark  "  on  the  Sabbath  day 

And  the  Catechism  thus  to  say. 

Among  those  things  which  he  holds  till  death 

Is  his  love  for  this  grand  old  Confession  of  Faith. 

There  are  some  of  us  here  old  fogies  enough 

To  maintain  that  there's  yet  no  better  stuff 

For  building  a  man,  on  whom  to  depend. 

Than  "Effectual  Calling,"  and  "Man's  Chief  End"; 

So  in  place  of  every  modern  "Ism," 

We'll  stick  to  The  Shorter  Catechism. 

And  in  part  proof— I  am  here  to-day, 

To  show  in  this  sort  of  rhyming  way. 

The  kind  of  women  and  manner  of  men 

That  were  reared  in  the  homes  of  old  Scotland,  when 

This  Httle  book  first  took  its  place 

In  the  hearts  and  homes  of  the  Scottish  race. 

You've  heard  of  the  Covenanters,  who 

Faced  danger  and  death  neath  the  Banner  Blue— 

The  Banner  Blue,  on  whose  silken  fold 

[197] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH.   STAUNTON.  VA. 


These  words  were  written  in  letters  of  gold 

"For  Christ's  Crown  and  Covenant,  "  so  that  all  might  behold. 

'T  was  in  that  heroic  generation 

There  first  began  the  recitation 

Of  the  Catechism,  which  we  to-day 

Are  teaching  our  boys  and  girls  to  say. 

After  Sixteen  Hundred  and  Forty-seven 
When  these  honored  Standards  first  were  given 
The  Scottish  people,  came  thirteen  years 
Of  quiet,  free  from  harassing  fears. 
Adopted  by  Church  Courts  and  Councils  of  State. 
Taught  in  every  home,  both  to  small  and  great; 
In  those  peaceful  years  this  book  won  its  place 
Which  the  bloody  years  following  could  not  efface. 

In  1660,  the  Restoration 

Brought  evil  times  for  the  Scottish  nation  ; 

For  Oliver  Cromwell  now  was  dead 

And  Charles  the  Second  reigned  instead— 

A  king  that  was  cruel,  a  man  that  was  vile, 

Now  sat  on  the  throne  of  the  British  Isle. 

Nor  were  times  better  when  Charles  was  gone 

And  James  the  Second  ascended  the  throne — 

A  bigoted  coward,  who  looked,  it  is  said, 

Unmoved  on  men's  tortures,  yet  turned  and  fled 

When  battle's  red  lightning  flashed  round  his  own  head. 

Ah,  then  were  the  days  when  men's  souls  were  tried  ! 

When  every  foul  art  of  the  bigot  was  plied 

To  shake  their  loyalty  to  the  truth 

In  this  Confession  of  Faith  set  forth  ; 

To  drive  forever  from  Scottish  land 

These  symbols  now  honored  on  every  hand. 

For  twenty-eight  years  the  storm  rolled  on. 
And  many  a  deed  of  darkness  was  done  ; 
As  the  sickle  cuts  down  the  ripest  grain. 
So  the  best  and  purest  of  Scotland  were  slain  ; 
The  Confession  of  Faith  and  the  Catechism 
Received  in  those  years  their  bloody  baptism. 

And  here  to-day  it  may  be  for  our  good 

To  look  at  some  scenes  in  those  years  of  blood, 

[198] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Those  bitter  years  when  this  tree  took  root 

Of  which  we  now  eat  the  pleasant  fruit. 

Let  us  go  for  a  moment  back  in  thought 

To  old  Sanquhar  town,  where  a  deed  was  wrought 

Which  kindled  again  to  a  fiery  glow, 

A  zeal  for  the  truth,  that  was  burning  low. 

'Tis  the  year  1680,  a  midsummer's  day. 

And  a  band  of  horsemen  are  wending  their  way 

Into  Sanquhar  town,  and  up  the  street 

To  the  market  cross,  where  they  presently  meet. 

Round  the  market  cross  they  take  their  stand, 

Each  head  is  uncovered,  in  every  hand 

Gleams  a  naked  sword,  then  in  trumpet  tone 

Rings  the  voice  of  their  leader,  Richard  Cameron. 

"  We  here  this  day  make  our  declaration 

Against  King  Charles  and  this  whole  nation, 

Who  have  broken  faith  with  God  and  man. 

And  we  pledge  ourselves  to  fight  as  we  can 

To  bring  to  an  end  his  wicked  reign. 

And  in  token  hereof  is  now  unfurled 

This  flag  of  the  kingdom  that's  not  of  this  world." 

He  spake  and  out  on  the  air  there  flew 

The  silken  folds  of  the  Banner  Blue. 

Then  neath  the  Blue  Banner,  with  letters  of  gold. 

This  little  band,  scarce  twenty  all  told. 

Who  thus  had  bidden  defiance  bold 

To  the  might  of  three  kingdoms,  ride  two  and  two 

Down  Sanquhar  street  and  are  lost  to  view. 

But  from  end  to  end  of  the  Scottish  nation 

Soon  is  ringing  this  Sanquhar  Declaration. 


It  is  thirty  days  later,  again  in  our  sight 
These  men  of  the  Covenant,  are  drawn  up  for  fight. 
'Tis  a  close  July  day,  and  a  storm  is  at  hand 
When  in  dark  Ayrsmoss  they  take  their  stand. 
And  against  them  comes  surging  in  headlong  course 
Bruce  of  Earlhall's  dragoons— four  times  their  force. 

Long  and  stubborn  the  fight,  in  the  skies  overhead 
The  thunder  is  roaring,  the  lightnings  blaze  red; 

[199] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


In  the  dark  mist  beneath,  the  muskets  are  flashing, 
And  in  deadly  encounter,  the  bright  swords  are  clashing. 
Many  a  blaspheming  trooper  is  now  made  to  feel, 
Though  he  mocked  at  the  righteous,  the  edge  of  their  steel. 

But  at  length  weight  of  numbers  and  discipline  tell, 

And  the  last  of  his  band,  Richard  Cameron  fell; 

It  is  said  at  that  moment  the  skies  blazed  in  whiteness, 

With  a  flash  of  the  lightning  surpassing  in  brightness. 

His  soul  left  the  body  all  mangled  and  gory 

And  through  the  rent  heavens  passed  upward  to  glory. 

Five  cruel  years  have  come  and  gone, 
Since  the  death  of  Richard  Cameron; 
It  is  bright  Springtime,  the  first  of  May, 
And  traveling  along  the  main  highway 
Is  a  troop  of  horsemen,  led  by  one 
Who  in  Scottish  history  stands  alone 
Enjoying  an  infamy  all  his  own. 

And  yet  as  you  see  him  riding  there. 

With  his  long  locks  of  light  brown  hair. 

Clustering  around  a  face  as  fair 

As  a  woman's,  holding  with  gallant  air 

The  reins  of  his  black  steed,  Boscabel, 

You'd  never  think  'twas  the  work  of  hell 

He  was  now  doing,  and  that  by  the  name 

Of  "  Bloody  Claverhouse  "  he's  known  to  fame. 

Mark  him  well  as  he  rides  along. 
Whistling  perchance,  a  careless  song. 
His  dragoons  following  who  in  their  revels 
Were  said  to  mimic  the  names  of  devils — 
Now  see  the  light  flash  in  his  eye! 
What  kind  of  game  does  this  eagle  spy? 

Not  far  from  yonder  cottage  door 
Cutting  up  turf  upon  the  moor, 
Is  a  man  well  known  the  country  o'er 
As  "  The  Christian  Carrier  " — his  name, 
John  Brown  of  Priesthill,  on  this  same 
Rests  bloody  Claverhouse's  eye  of  flame. 

Just  one  wave  of  Claverhouse's  hand. 

With  a  word  to  the  soldiers  of  stern  command, 

[200] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Too  quick  for  any  thought  of  flight, 
The  dragoons  ride  to  left  and  right, 
And  soon  to  his  own  cottage  door 
They  bring  John  Brown  across  the  moor. 

Leading  their  baby  by  the  hand, 
His  wife  comes  out  and  takes  her  stand 
Beside  her  husband,  with  sickening  fear. 
Waiting  the  end  which  she  knows  is  near. 

For  vanished  now  from  Claverhouse's  face 

Is  every  line  of  beauty  and  grace, 

Instead  she  sees  written  on  every  part 

Of  his  visage  the  signs  of  a  merciless  heart. 

He  asks  a  few  questions — among  the  rest— 

"John  Brown,  are  you  willing  to  take  the  test?  " 

(That  impious  oath,  by  all  abhorred, 

Who  at  that  time,  in  Scotland,  feared  the  Lord). 

The  martyr  makes  resolute  answer,  "no" — 

"Then,  John,  to  your  prayers  you  had  better  go, 

For  as  sure  as  the  sun  is  in  yonder  sky 

The  hour  has  come  when  you  must  die." 

Picture  the  feelings,  you  who  can, 

Of  that  lone,  persecuted  man. 

As  he  falls  on  his  knees  beside  the  road. 

And  pours  his  whole  heart  out  to  God, 

Only  a  moment  of  respite  is  given 

As  the  prayers  of  the  martyr  go  up  to  heaven. 

Then  Claverhouse's  voice  breaks  in — "Enough 

Of  this  pious,  canting,  Whiggish  stuff, 

Men,  let  him  bid  his  wife  farewell. 

Then  take  him  down  in  yonder  dell 

And  shoot  him."     But  not  a  soldier  stirred 

To  carry  out  his  cruel  word. 

They  were  hardened  men  and  used  to  blood 
And  deeds  of  violence  none  too  good. 
But  each  soldier  looked  at  the  woman  there 
Herself  the  picture  of  mute  despair. 
Holding  the  hand  of  the  little  child. 
Who  gazed  in  its  father's  face  and  smiled. 
And  not  a  man  would  be  the  first 
To  obey  an  order  so  accurst. 

[201] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,    VA 


Then  all  the  demon  in  Claverhouse's  soul, 

Broke  forth  in  a  rage  beyond  control; 

"You  soft-hearted  fools,  now  every  knave 

Of  you  hopes  this  cursed  Whig  to  save 

By  your  disobedience,  I'll  make  you  know, 

I'm  not  the  man  to  be  thwarted  so!" 

So  speaking,  his  pistol  forth  he  drew, 

Aimed  at  John  Brown,  fired  straight  and  true, 

The  bullet  on  its  fell  errand  sped 

And  by  his  own  threshold  the  martyr  fell  dead. 

Linked  forever  with  Claverhouse's  name 

Is  the  memory  of  this  deed  of  shame; 

And  yet  in  these  degenerate  days 

There  are  not  wanting  those  who  praise 

This  monster— instead  of  bloody  Claverhouse, 

In  sober  history,  romance  and  verse. 

This  most  surprising  change  you  see 

His  name  transformed  to  "Bonny  Dundee." 

Just  as  some  now  are  so  very  civil 

As  to  speak  with  high  respect  of  the  Devil. 

But  one  more  scene,  the  foulest  crime, 

Of  all  this  bloody  "killing  time," 

Done  in  that  same  year  the  eleventh  of  May 

Upon  the  sands  of  Wigtown  Bay; 

Where  the  River  Blednoch  comes  pouring  down 

Into  Solway  Firth,  near  by  Wigtown. 

This  morning  in  May  the  sun  shines  clear. 
And  the  banks  of  Blednoch  far  and  near 
Are  black  with  people,  every  eye 
Turns  to  one  spot  where  the  tide  runs  high; 
For  there,  where  the  river  and  sea  are  met, 
Deep  down  in  the  bank  two  stakes  are  set. 

To  the  lowest  an  aged  woman  is  tied; 
To  the  other  a  girl,  like  a  youthful  bride, 
Or  like  a  young  queen,  with  face  so  fair 
And  a  crown  of  shimmering,  golden  hair. 
These  two  have  refused  to  take  the  test, 
At  Lag  of  Grierson's  stern  behest; 
And  now  by  his  orders  are  fastened  down 
And  doomed  in  the  Solway's  tide  to  drown. 

[202] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

The  elder  woman  first  tastes  the  cup 

Of  death.     As  the  Solway  comes  rolling  up 

And  fills  the  Blednoch  river  bed 

The  waters  flow  over  her  aged  head: 

With  unshaken  constancy  to  the  last, 

Nor  a  sigh,  nor  a  groan. 

This  ripened  saint  passed. 

But  how  does  the  younger  bear  the  sight  ? 

For  well  may  the  ghastly  vision  affright! 

And  with  set  purpose  to  add  to  her  fear 

One  of  her  persecutors  comes  near 

The  river  bank,  and  with  cruel  jeer 

Cries,  "Ho,  Margaret  Wilson,  what  see  you  there?  " 

But  with  serene  courage  the  girl  replied, 

"All  that  I  see  in  yon  cruel  tide 

Is  Jesus  Christ,  who  my  sins  did  bear. 

In  one  of  His  members  suffering  there." 

But  soon  her  own  time  comes,  the  tide 

Now  flooding  the  river  channel  wide,  * 

Creeps  up  to  her  feet,  still  rises  higher. 

Flows  round  her  waist,  to  her  face  comes  nigher, 

Begins  to  lift  her  golden  tresses, 

With  deadly,  tho'  so  soft  caresses, 

A  few  more  times  it  will  ebb  and  flow, 

Then  above  her  lips  must  the  salt  flood  go. 

Then  in  her  extremity  out  on  the  air 
Floats  the  voice  of  the  dying  maid,  as  clear 
As  when  in  the  Sabbath's  holy  calm 
She  had  sung  so  oft  this  same  25th  Psalm; 
And  these  are  the  words  which  catch  the  ear 
Of  the  weeping  multitude  far  and  near: 

'  My  sins  and  faults  of  youth 
Do  Thou,  O  Lord  forget. 
After  Thy  mercies  think  on  me 
And  for  Thy  goodness  great. 

Turn  unto  me  Thy  face 
And  to  me  mercy  show 
Because  that  I  am  "desolate 
And  am  brought  very  low. 

O  do  Thou  keep  my  soul 
Do  Thou  deliver  me 
And  let  me  never  be  ashamed 
Because  I  trust  in  Thee.' 

[203] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


— As  these  last  words  rang  with  melodious  thrill, 
The  sweet  voice  faltered,  choked,  and  was  still. 

Such  were  some  of  the  scenes  of  those  twenty-eight  years 
Whose  record  is  traced  in  blood  and  tears. 

That  which  to-day  I  would  have  you  mark 

Is  this  one  fact  of  that  period  dark, 

That  all  those  Covenanters  true. 

Who  manfully  followed  the  Banner  Blue, 

Both  those  who  fought  at  Pentland  Ridge 

Or  at  Drumclog  and  Bothwell  Bridge, 

Or  who  stood  with  Cameron  round  Sanquhar  Cross 

And  died  at  his  side  in  bloody  Ayrsmoss, 

Or  like  Margaret  Wilson  and  pious  John  Brown 

For  Christ  and  His  truth  their  lives  laid  down — 

The  eighteen  thousand,  both  women  and  men 

Who  during  these  twenty-eight  years  were  slain 

These  examples  of  old-time  heroism. 

Were  reared  on  the  Shorter  Catechism. 

The  following  is   the  address  of  Rev.  A.   R.  Cocke, 
D.  D.,  of  Waynesboro,  Virginia. 

CALVINISM  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 
Fathres,  Brethern  and  Fellow-Presbyterians: 

What  is  Calvinism?  Should  we  answer  that  it  is  the  system  of 
doctrine  taught  in  the  Westminster  symbols,  our  reply  would  be 
correct.  And  yet  this  would  not  be  the  best  answer  that  could  be 
given.  Do  you  say  it  is  the  system  of  truth  formulated  in  the  Creed 
of  the  Reformed  Churches  of  Europe?  True;  yet  a  better  definition 
can  be  found.  Then  do  you  say  it  is  the  great  temple  of  truth  erected 
by  the  sainted  and  brilliant  Augustine?  Again  you  are  correct  in 
your  reply,  but  have  not  expressed  it  in  the  best  words.  Calvinism  is 
the  system  of  truth  and  doctrine  revealed  by  the  Holy  Ghost  through 
the  pen  of  Paul  the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  It  is  the  Romans;  the 
Ephesians;  the  Galatians.  Calvinism  is  Paulineism— the  system  which 
saves  a  lost  sinner  by  the  sovereign  grace  of  an  infinite  God.  The  key 
to  this  system  is  given  in  a  few  words— "Man's  chief  end  is  to  glorify 
God  and  enjoy  Him  forever." 

Foreign  missions  is  essential  in  this  system  of  doctrine.  This 
consecrated  daughter  is  born  of  the  noblest  form  of  truth;  she  is  the 
daughter  of  the  King.     Slightly  changing  Renan's  famous  sentence 

[204] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,    STAUNTON,  VA. 


we  trace  her  ancestry  at  one  stroke:  Jesus  Christ  begat  Paul,  Paul 
begat  Augustine,  Augustine  begat  Calvin,  Calvin  begat  the  system  of 
modern  missions.  The  Calvinistic  world  is  at  this  moment  the  heart 
and  soul  of  Foreign  missions.  The  relation  then  existing  between 
Calvinism  and  Foreign  missions  is  that  of  the  truth  to  practice,  the 
impulse  to  the  deed,  the  seed  to  the  fruit,  the  cause  to  the  effect,  the 
mother  to  the  daughter. 

The  Sovereign  God  of  the  Calvinist  laid  in  His  eternal 
PLANS  the  entire  SCHEME  OF  MISSIONS.  To  unfold  that  scheme  is 
but  to  rethink  God's  plans.  When  Johann  Kepler  found  in  the  theory 
of  an  elliptical  orbit  the  golden  key  which  unlocked  the  mystery  of  the 
heavens,  unable  longer  to  contain  his  rapture  he  cried,  "O  Almighty 
God,  I  think  Thy  thoughts  after  Thee."  The  idea  of  missions  is  the 
eternal  plan  of  God  for  the  redemption  of  a  lost  world;  in  unfolding  to 
men  that  plan  we  but  recount  the  thoughts  of  God's  mind  and  heart. 
The  spirit  of  missions  burned  in  God's  heart  from  eternity. 

Spirit  of  Missions!     Spark  of  genuine  flame! 
In  God  or  man  developed,  still  the  same. 
******* 
Ere  in  the  void  the  firmament  was  hung. 
Creation's  birth  ere  stars  and  seraphs  sung. 
Thou  hadst  Thy  being. 

Let  us  learn  the  great  features  of  that  plan  of  missions.  First: 
An  eternal  purpose  to  save  His  own  people  out  of  the  mass  of  a  lost 
world.  Second:  The  declared  command  to  evangelize  the  world— to 
send  the  gospel  to  every  creature.  Third:  An  adequate  supernatural 
power  sent  along  with  his  messengers;  "Ye  shall  be  baptised  with  the 
Holy  Ghost"  are  his  words.  Fourth:  The  result  which  will  at  last  be 
completely  accomplished,  viz. :  the  gathering  out  of  the  world  a  be- 
lieving people,  the  Church,  Christ's  Bride. 

These  eternal  plans  of  God  are  beneath  our  feet  when  we  go  forth 
to  mission  work.  Shall  we  not  run  with  swift  and  confident  feet? 
There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  final  result.  The  immortal  Calvinist, 
Judson,  realized  this  fact  and  hence  never  wavered  in  his  assurance  of 
the  success  of  missions.  In  a  very  dark  period  when  he  had  toiled  for 
fifteen  years  with  only  eighteen  converts  a  letter  reached  him  askmg, 
"What  are  the  prospects?"  He  sent  back  the  heroic  reply,  "Bright 
as  the  promises  of  God."  His  feet  stood  on  the  rock  of  God's  eternal 
purpose. 

Dr.  Duff,  that  most  fervid  expounder  of  missions  found  the  roots 
of  missions  in  the  decrees  of  God.  "The  purpose, ' '  says  he,  "from  all 
eternity  to  create  the  universe,  visible  and  invisible,  for  the  manifesta- 
tion of  the  divine  glory,  the  permission  of  the  fall  of  man,  in  order  that, 

[205] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


through  the  assumption  of  human  nature  by  the  everlasting  Son  of  the 
Father  and  the  sacrificial  shedding  of  His  precious  blood,  myriads  of 
the  fallen  and  guilty  might  be  redeemed  and  exalted  to  a  higher  posi- 
tion than  that  from  which  they  fell  *  »  *  the  inmeasurable 
antiquity  as  regards  conception  and  purpose,  the  elevation  and  un- 
earthly grandeur  of  the  missionary  enterprise,"  etc.;  such  are  the 
glowing  words  in  which  he  describes  the  lofty  design  of  missions. 

In  such  conceptions  as  these  the  spirit  of  missions  becomes  a 
mighty  and  resistless  impulse  among  men.  There  is  no  question  as  to 
consequences: 

He  always  wins  who  sides  with  God 
To  Him  no  chance  is  lost. 

With  this  thought  in  mind  Pearson  says  :  "To  God's  Chariots  two 
celestial  chargers  are  yoked  :  Omniscience  and  Omnipotence,  the  rim 
of  whose  chariot  wheels  is  so  high  that  it  is  dreadful  and  full  of  eyes 
before  and  behind."  Hence  does  he  add  (and  what  an  inspiration  to 
the  Calvinistic  Missionary)  "To  work  for  and  with  God  is  to  be 
borne  along  irresistibly  toward  the  goal  of  consummate  victory  and 
final  glory." 

Jesus  Christ   was  not  only  the    Great  Missionary,   but 

PLACED  His  OWN  SOVEREIGN  PURPOSE  BENEATH  THE  SCHEME  OF  MIS- 
SIONS. In  John  XV:  16,  this  is  made  clear.  "Ye  have  not  chosen  me  but 
I  have  chosen  you  and  ordained  you,  that  ye  should  go  and  bring  forth 
fruit."  He  did  not  leave  it  to  others  to  interpret  that  "go";  He  did 
it  Himself.  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature."  Thus  the  eternal  purpose  is  illuminated  by  His  command. 
God's  plans  are  the  marching  orders  of  the  Church. 

When  we  undertake  mission  work  we  become  co-laborers,  co-suf- 
ferers and  co-witnesses  with  Christ,  the  typical  missionary.  He  laid 
aside  crown,  sceptre  and  heavenly  purple;  left  the  Courts  of  Heaven 
in  sovereign  unmerited  grace  to  lift  a  lost  world,  dead  in  trespasses 
and  sins,  up  into  the  sunlight  of  His  Father's  eternal  love  and  favor: 
Well  cried  a  missionary,  "Oh  what  a  perfect  missionary  was  He!  What 
sermons  of  love  did  he  preach  ! "  The  path  of  missions— who  first  trod 
it? 

Nay,  no  men  mortal  first  that  passage  trod. 
The  prince  of  missions  was  the  Son  of  God. 

The  Sovereign  Holy  Spirit  was  Christ's  first  great  mission- 
ary TO  men.  Said  the  departing  Christ:  "I  send  you  another  com- 
forter"; "He  shall  convince  the  world  of  sin,  of  righteousness  and 
judgment  to  come. "  He  is  a  sovereign.  "The  wind  bloweth  where  it 
listeth. "  The  Acts  of  Apostles  is  truly  the  acts  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is 
the  first  chapter  in  the  Holy  Spirit's  Mission  work  for  the  world.     He 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


appears  on  the  scene  and  creates  Pentecost.  He  says,  "Separate  me 
Barnabas  and  Saul  to  the  work  whereto  I  have  called  them" — the  work 
of  missions.  He  guided  Paul  in  all  his  wondrous  career,  now  suffering 
him  not  to  enter  one  province,  now  leading  him  from  one  city  to  an- 
other, and  now  leading  him  from  one  continent  to  another.  His  whole 
work  by  the  hands  of  these  Apostles,  especially  by  the  hands  of  Paul, 
was  carried  on  according  to  Calvinistic  norms  of  thought. 

All  mission  work  is  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  pro- 
vided it  is  true  Foreign  mission  work.  The  Holy  Ghost  sketches  the 
widening  lines  of  this  world-wide  campaign.  In  the  year  328,  A.  D., 
Constantine,  on  the  site  of  Byzantium,  was  in  person  marking  out  the 
boundary  of  the  city  of  Constantinople;  his  attention  being  called  to 
the  vast  area  he  had  staked  off  and  the  improbability  that  so  large 
a  city  should  ever  be  built,  calmly  replied:  "I  am  following  Him  who 
is  leading  me."  In  the  same  words  may  every  missionary  and  mis- 
sionary church  reply  as  it  maps  out  the  world  for  mission  effort: 
"I  am  following  Him — the  Holy  Ghost — that  leadeth  me." 

Paul,  the  inspired  founder  of  the  Calvinistic  system,  was 
THE  great  missionary  OF  THE  AGES.  Read  the  Romans,  with  its 
deep  and  exhaustive  conception  of  sin  and  its  malignity,  its  doctrine 
of  salvation  by  pure  grace,  its  explicit  statement  of  the  electing  love 
of  a  Sovereign  God;  now  behold  Paul's  thrilling  career  as  a  missionary 
to  the  Gentiles,  tracing  his  travels  among  them  in  lines  of  light, 
you  have  beheld  cause  and  effect.  The  man  whose  heart  and  soul  is 
on  fire  with  the  truth  contained  in  the  Romans  will  not  count  his  life 
dear  if  only  he  can  carry  that  great  salvation  to  the  nations. 

The  author  of  the  Romans,  sees  the  Macedonian  vision.  Paul  is 
upon  one  of  his  urgent  missionary  journeys  ;  he  reaches  Mysia  and 
essays  to  go  into  Bithynia,  but  the  Spirit  suffered  him  not;  he  reaches 
Troas  and  there  God  gives  him  a  vision  and  a  call.  He  would  fain 
stay  in  Asia— dear  old  Asia — where  the  Lord  was  born,  where  the 
ground  was  hallowed  with  being  pressed  by  his  heavenly  feet;  Asia 
"bright  with  the  memories  of  Pentecost."  The  call  is  to  Foreign 
mission  work.  A  man  of  Macedonia,  a  man  of  another  continent, 
appears  to  him  saying,  "Come  over  into  Macedonia  and  help  us."  In 
that  vision  Philippi  stretched  her  hands  for  the  bread  of  life;  Berea 
besought  the  word  of  God,  to  them  worth  more  than  gold,  yea,  than 
much  fin,e  gold;  classic,  agnostic  Athens  begged  that  the  true  light 
might  dispel  her  darkness;  Rome  sued  for  peace  with  God;  savage 
Britain  turned  its  bhnded  eyes  to  the  coming  dawn;  America  from  the 
isles  on  the  east  to  the  golden  gates  of  the  sunset  in  the  west  strained 
her  ear  to  hear  the  wing  of  the  angel  that  bears  the  trumpet  of  the 
everlasting  gospel.     The  Macedonian  cry  was  a  Calvinistic  vision. 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


That  Pauline  vision  was  typical  and  universal.  It  has  been  the 
perpetual  call  to  missions;  its  living  symbol.  All  churches  seek  here 
its  unfailing  inspiration  for  mission  effort.  This  call  to  duty  fails  not 
with  the  ages.  Some  one  has  said  that  the  man  of  Macedonia  was  a 
composite  photograph  of  every  race  under  heaven.  It  is  a  man  of  Japan 
calling  us  to  take  his  land,  the  key  to  the  Orient,  for  Christ;  a  man  of 
Korea  begging  that  the  coming  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  may  make 
his  land  indeed  the  land  of  the  rising  sun;  a  man  from  the  isles  of  the 
sea  asking  that  they  may  become  by  a  touch  of  the  gospel,  gems  for 
Christ's  mediatorial  crown;  a  man  of  India  crying  in  behalf  of  vast  and 
needy  millions  for  the  bread  of  life;  a  man  of  Africa,  on  bended  knee, 
petitioning  that  his  submerged  millions  may  yet  become  "saints  carved 
in  ebony";  a  man  of  Mexico  wishing  from  the  depths  of  impoverished 
and  sin-blurred  soul,  that  the  Gospel  may  make  their  souls  richer  than 
their  mines  and  purer  and  more  beautiful  than  his  unflecked  skies  and 
Eden-like  valleys. 

The  Pauline  or  Calvinistic  system  alone  gives  an  adequate  theory 
of  missions.  First:  As  regards  motive.  Paul  makes  the  fflori/  of  God 
the  chief  end  of  man.  God's  glory  is  best  subserved  in  the  salvation 
of  souls.  Calvinism,  then,  plies  men  with  the  chief  motive  of  life  as  an 
impulse  to  missions.  />««;,  too,  is  stronger  in  the  Calvinistic  system— 
"forgiven  much,  loveth  also  much" — is  its  motto.  To  the  Calvinist 
sin  is  the  direct  evil,  hell  the  deepest  pit  in  the  universe,  grace  the 
sweetest  word  in  the  language  of  God  and  the  holy  heaven,  to  which 
electing  love  lifts  him,  the  sum  total  of  all  felicity.  Feeling  him- 
self saved  with  so  great  a  salvation,  gratitude  causes  the  flinty 
heart  ever  to  gush  in  streams  of  love— the  saved  one  will  leave  home, 
friends,  property  and  all  to  take  Jesus  and  his  salvation  to  his  lost 
brethren  who  have  never  known  its  glory.  It  requires  a  Calvinistic 
view  of  man's  chief  end — a  Calvinistic  fountain  of  love— to  overcome 
all  difficulties,  dangerous  climates,  antagonism  of  the  heathen,  the 
Prince  of  Darkness  and  all  his  innumerable  hosts.  Despite  all  diffi- 
culties, to  the  Calvinist  so  full  is  his  heart  of  love  and  confidence,  that 
the  future,  "to  his  exalting  expectation,  is  to  be  as  radiant  with 
glory  as  the  sky  over  Calvary  was  heavy  with  gloom— as  resplendent 
with  lovely  celestial  lights  as  to  his  imagination,  if  you  hold  that 
faculty  chiefly  concerned,  was  the  mount  of  the  Lord's  supreme 
ascension.  He  expects  long  toil  and  many  disasters,  incarnadined 
seas,  dreary  wildernesses,  battles  with  giants,  and  spasms  of  fear  in 
the  heart  of  the  Church.  But  he  looks,  as  surely  as  he  looks  for  the 
sunrise,  after  nights  of  tempest  and  lingering  dawn,  for  the  ultimate 
illumination  of  the  world  of  faith."  Second:  As  regards  neccessity 
for  the  work.     The  heathen  are  in  supreme  need  of  the  gospel.    They 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


are  lost,  they  are  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  they  are  "without  God 
and  without  hope  in  the  world."  There  is  no  possibility  of  salvation 
out  of  Christ.  They  must  be  taught  about  Christ.  "Neither  is  there 
salvation  in  any  other  ;  for  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven 
given  among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved."  Calvinism  em- 
phasizes this  necessity ;  other  systems  weaken  its  force  until  men 
conclude  that  there  is  no  deep  need.  Calvinism  gives  a  need  as  deep 
as  sin,  as  terrible  as  the  pit  and  thus  rouses  the  Church  to  her  duty  to 
those  who  sit  in  darkness. 

Third:  As  to  the  results.  No  other  system  gives  definite  assur- 
ance. Calvinism  says  all  God's  people,  however  vast  a  multitude 
that  may  be,  will  be  saved;  we  have  but  to  preach  a  pure  gospel. 
God  cheered  Paul  in  corrupt  Corinth  with  the  assurance  "I  have 
much  people  in  this  city."  He  was  wading  in  the  waters  of  doubt 
when  lo!  those  words  put  the  eternal  rock  beneath  his  feet.  How 
often  the  missionary  in  the  field  and  the  church  at  home  need  just 
such  a  star  to  guide  them. 

Under  the  Apostle  who  saw  the  Macedonian  vision  and  con- 
structed an  adequate  theory  of  missions,  the  missionary  impulse 
continued  to  impel  the  Church  for  centuries  until  at  last  the  night  of 
the  dark  ages  quenched  the  light  which  Paul  had  kindled.  The  night 
rested  like  a  pall  over  the  world;  one  or  two  stars  relieved  its 
darkness.  They  were  Calvinistic  beacons  assuring  God's  watchers 
that  dawn  would  come  again  when  the  clock  of  the  ages  struck  God's 
hour. 

The  dark  ages  showed  two  persistent  and  heroic  efforts 
AT  missions.  The  first  star  shone  among  the  snowy  pinnacles  of  the 
Alps.  Moving  out  from  amid  its  dark  gorges  and  valleys  true  Calvin- 
ists,  whom  persecution  could  not  intimidate  nor  sword  deter,  carried 
the  pure  gospel  to  the  neighboring  people.  "The  Israel  of  the  Alps" 
burned  in  Rome's  vindictive  fires  but  could  not  be  consumed.  She 
gave  herself  ceaselessly  to  spreading  the  Gospel;  even  making  it  a 
rule  that  every  minister  must  spend  at  least  two  years  in  missionary 
labors.  They  went  two  and  two  all  over  Italy,  into  France  and  far 
into  Germany.  Whittier  has  celebrated  the  work  of  her  colporteurs 
carrying  the  free  Word  of  God  to  cottage  and  palace.  Thus  the 
humble  missionary  presses  the  Word  of  God  on  a  noble  lady: 

O  lady  fair,  I  have  yet  a  g-em 

Which  purer  lustre  flings 

Than  the  diamond  flash  of  the  jewelled  crown 

On  the  lofty  brow  of  king's; 

A  wonderful  pearl  of  exceeding  price. 

Whose  virtues  shall  not  decay; 

Whose  light  shall  be  as  a  spell  to  Thee, 

And  a  blessing  on  Thy  way. 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Despite  tens  of  thousands  of  martyrs  these  Calvinists  of  the 
Alpine  vale  and  crag,  kept  alive  mission  fires  for  hundreds  of  years, 
while  on  other  altars  lay  but  blackened  and  dead  ashes.  They  were 
adamant  to  the  persecutor's  coercion  but  their  hearts  melted  in  love 
and  hunger  for  those  who  knew  not  the  way  of  life. 

The  other  star  of  that  dreary  night  shone  above  the  western 
coast  of  Scotland.  We  turn  to  lona's  Isle,  a  rugged  gem  set  in  a 
boisterous  sea. 

WhereChristian  piety's  soul-cheering  spark 

( Kindled  from  heaven  between  the  light  and  dark 

Of  time)    Shone  like  the  morning  star. 

Here  was  established  what  might  be  a  missionary  seminary 
whence  preachers  were  sent  out  through  Britain,  France,  Germany 
and  Switzerland  declaring  a  pure  gospel.  These  precious  agencies 
relieved  greatly  the  night  which  hung  over  the  sixth,  seventh  and 
eighth  centuries.  D'Aubigne  says:  "  lona,  governed  by  a  simple 
elder  had  become  a  missionary  college."  Rome  at  last  crushed  this 
protest  against  her  claims  and  drove  the  missionaries  off  the  earth,  but 
the  smouldering  fires  never  died  out  in  many  a  glen  of  Scotland,  so 
that  when  the  Reformation  began  to  kindle,  the  hearts  of  the  people 
were  already  glowing  with  the  truth.  Scotland,  as  a  consequence, 
became,  next  to  Geneva,  the  heart  of  Protestantism. 

Modern  missions  sprung  up  in  Calvinistic  soil.  Coligny 
dreamed  of  a  happy  Huguenot  France  across  the  seas.  He  fitted  out 
an  expedition  to  establish  a  strictly  missionary  colony  in  Brazil.  His 
next  step  was  to  apply  to  Calvin  himself  for  ministers  to  send  out  with 
this  colony.  Calvin  responded  by  appointing  Richier,  Chartier  and 
twelve  others  to  undertake  this  great  work.  But  sad  it  is  for  the 
western  world  that  this  promising  effort  to  spread  the  truth  was  basely 
betrayed,  but  it  had  the  glory  of  heading  the  list  of  modern  mission- 
ary martyrs.  Coligny  made  a  second  effort  to  carry  his  purpose  into 
effect  which  was  this  time  crushed  by  the  bloody  hand  of  the  Portu- 
guese, and  the  colony  in  Florida  was  blotted  out  of  existence. 

Coligny's  name  appears  on  the  escutheon  of  the  Huguenot  Church. 
Never  do  I  see  that  name  of  a  character  purer  than  the  lilies  of  France 
that  I  do  not  wish  it  could  be  written  in  gems.  Calvinism  with  the 
hammer  and  chisel  of  the  Infinite  Artist,  shaped  his  character  into 
white  marble  to  endure  forever — a  precious  and  enduring  monument  to 
the  Huguenot  name  of  which  he  was  the  consummate  flower.  Let  us 
never  forget  that  while  pure  as  snow,  his  heart  was  warm  and  tender 
as  that  of  the  Savior  and  yearned  for  the  salvation  of  heathen  in  the 
western  world.  Coligny's  effort  was  the  morning  star  which  heralded 
the  glorious  day  of  modern  missions. 

[210] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Next  we  behold  flames  kindling  in  Scotland,  the  most  Cal- 
VINISTIC  OF  ALL  LANDS.  John  Knox  wrote  into  the  first  Confession 
(1560)  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  a  text  which  was  a  very  seed- 
thought  of  missions:  "And  this  glaid  tyding  is  of  the  Kyngdome  sail 
be  prechert  through  the  haill  world  for  a  witness  unto  all  natiouns 
and  then  sail  the  end  cum."  In  1647  the  General  Assembly  recorded 
the  gospel  desire  for  "a  more  firm  consociation  for  propagating  it  to 
those  who  are  without,  especially  the  Jews."  1699  heard  the  Assem- 
bly enjoining  upon  the  ministers  sent  forth  with  the  Darien  expedition 
to  labor  among  the  heathen;  a  year  later  the  Assembly  added:  "The 
Lord,  we  hope,  will  yet  honor  you  and  this  Church  from  which  you 
were  sent  to  carry  His  name  among  the  heathen."  This  all,  logically, 
led  in  1709  to  the  organization  of  "The  Society  in  Scotland  for  Propa- 
gating Christian  knowledge,"  which  worked  in  the  Highlands,  in 
America,  and  at  a  later  date,  in  Africa  and  India. 

John  Eliot,  whose  Calvinistic  energy  and  efforts  caused  one  to  re- 
mark that  the  anagram  of  his  name  was  toile,  went  forth  to  heroic 
labors  among  the  Indians.  Resting  on  God's  plans  for  missions  and 
His  purpose  thereby  to  save  His  people  out  of  all  nations,  Eliot  uttered 
one  sentence  which  has  become  as  immortal  as  his  own  name:  "Prayer 
and  pains,  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  will  do  anything."  What  an 
incentive  those  words  are  to  the  missionary! 

Brainerd,  who  was  himself  a  Calvinist,  has  a  name  forever  linked 
in  idylic  romance  with  the  greatest  New  England  Calvinistic  philos- 
opher. Jonathan  Edwards  was  his  biographer  and  bosom  friend. 
Edwards'  daughter  with  loving  ministry  soothed  his  last  days  while 
that  beautiful  life  was  sinking  in  glory  as  when 

The  weary  sun  hath  made  a  golden  set. 

Many  years  was  he  in  dying  and  during  those  days  with  quenchless 
enthusiasm  he  preached  the  gospel  to  the  heathen  savages.  The  She- 
kinah  glory  burned  behind  his  thin  veil  of  flesh  so  that  even  savage 
eyes  beheld  its  glory  and  knelt  to  worship.  If  you  never  read  any 
other  uninspired  book,  read  his  memoirs  with  its  thrilling  romance 
of  mission  work.     Whole  sections  of  it  should  be  printed  in  gold. 

William  Carey  became  a  great  modern  apostle  of  missions.  Out 
of  his  eflforts  grew  the  Baptist  Society  and  also  The  London  Missionary 
Society.  Presbyterian  influences  had  much  to  do  in  the  immediate 
organization  of  the  latter  society  which  has  done  such  a  world-wide 
work.  Of  this  whole  movement  Smith,  in  his  "Short  History  of  Mis- 
sions," says  :  "Nor  should  we  omit  to  observe  that  it  was  Calvinism— 
the  doctrines  of  grace  of  Paul  and  Augustine,  of  Columba  and  Wicliff  e 
—acting  against  the  false  or  anti-Calvinism  which  had  emasculated 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


the  churches,  that  led  the  van  in  the  great  missionary  crusade  to 
which  Christendom  was  summoned  by  a  higher  reading  of  the  cry 
which  Peter  the  Hermit  adopted  as  his  watch  word  :  "God  wills  it." 
Go,  inspire  your  hearts  by  reading  of  Capt.  James  Wilson,  "Who  had 
retired  in  affluence  and  ease  from  the  East  India  service,"  in  the 
later  years  of  life  sacrificing  all  and  becoming  the  first  volunteer 
missionary  of  the  London  Society.  Kindle  anew  the  missionary  fires 
in  your  soul  by  studying  the  life  of  Robert  Morrison,  who  started  for 
China  when  it  was  a  sealed  kingdom,  and  who,  after  twenty-seven  years 
of  work  for  them  was  buried  at  Macao,  and  beside  him  Leang-Afa,  the 
first  Chinese  preacher,  and  Ako,  the  first  convert.  Forget  not  John  Wil- 
liams, who  gave  himself  to  the  south  seas  and  who  in  his  enthusiasm 
wrote  :  "For  my  own  part  I  cannot  content  myself  within  the  narrow 
limits  of  a  single  reef."  Think  of  Robert  Moffat  in  darkest  Africa, 
and  of  Livingstone  dying  on  his  knees  calling  down  blessings  upon 
every  one  "who  will  help  to  heal  this  open  sore  of  the  world." 
Moffat's  memorial  obelisk  stands  in  Ormiston,  while  Livingstone's 
statue  graces  Edinburg— fitting  tributes  to  two  great  Calvinistic 
missionaries. 

The  Church  is  the  true  missionary  society.  She  can  delegate 
this  function  to  no  individual  or  society  of  individuals.  It  is  her  own 
heaven-appointed  work.  The  Church  of  Scotland  was  the  first  church, 
as  such,  since  the  reformation  to  send  out  missionaries,  and  that  under 
the  influence  of  the  great  Chalmers.  Presbyterianism  supplies  now, 
as  in  the  time  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  just  the  agency  and 
machinery  wanted  for  Foreign  missions.  The  gradation  of  courts 
from  the  Session  to  the  Assembly  enables  the  whole  Church  to  act 
directly  on  the  mission  fields  of  the  world.     This  is  her  glory. 

Our  beloved  Southern  Church  realized  this  important  truth.  In 
1861,  when  she  was  organized,  despite  the  fact  that  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  soldiers  shut  in  her  landward  borders  threatening  inva- 
sion and  mighty  fleets  were  already  blockading  her  coast,  she 
appointed  a  committee  of  Foreign  missions  and  amid  her  poverty 
began  work  among  the  heathen.  God  has  richly  blessed  her  faith  in 
sending  many  mighty  men  of  God  into  her  foreign  harvest  fields. 
Lane,  in  apostolic  zeal,  laid  down  his  life  for  the  gospel  in  Brazil. 
Lapsley,  burning  with  a  Savior's  love,  forever  consecrated  Africa  by 
mingling  his  sacred  dust  with  her  soil.  Mrs.  Snider,  loving  souls 
more  than  her  own  life,  went  to  glory  from  the  Congo's  dark  region. 
What  a  burst  of  light  for  her  sainted  soul  as  she  entered  the  gates 
of  pearl  to  look  on  a  Savior's  face!  There,  too,  is  Shepherd  yet 
working  with  the  mighty  powers  of  God  for  his  own  race.  Happy 
race    to    have    produced    such    a    character!     So    noble   in    genuine 

[212] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Christian  humility.  Forget  not,  too,  that  his  main  equipment  for  his 
life-work  was  a  thorough  study  of  the  Westminster  Confession  and 
Catechisms — under  their  mighty  influences  his  character  was  formed 
and  his  heart  filled  with  the  impulse  which  has  taken  him  to  the 
heart  of  Africa. 

Let  us  never  lose  the  impulse  to  Foreign  missions  which  is 
INHERENT  IN  CALVINISM.  If  we  do,  the  glory  of  the  Calvinistic 
Churches  will  have  departed  and  the  shadows  of  a  second  Dark  Ages 
will  already  have  begun  to  settle  over  the  Church.  In  Retzsch's 
illustrations  of  "Faust"  there  is  a  picture  which  vividly  brings  the  dire 
result  before  us.  To  lay  aside  our  mission  zeal  will  be  to  turn  our 
blessings  into  curses.  In  the  picture  referred  to,  the  soul  of  Faust  is 
contending  with  the  demons  who  are  trying  to  drag  him  down  into 
the  bottomless  abyss.  Angels  from  the  battlements  of  heaven  watch 
the  struggle.  Desiring  to  assist  Faust,  the  angels  pluck  the  roses 
from  the  bowers  of  Paradise  and  fling  them  down — a  mighty  shower 
of  falling  roses— upon  the  heads  of  the  fiends.  When  the  celestial 
roses  reach  the  air  of  the  pit  they  are  transformed  into  burning  coals 
which  burn  and  blister  the  demons.  Mighty  change!  So  all  blessings, 
though  they  be  the  best  blooms  of  heaven,  become  to  the  church  which 
disobeys  the  inherent  laws  of  its  own  nature  withering  curses.  Let 
us  not  belie  our  own  Calvinism  in  relaxing  our  efforts  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  heathen.  We  would  sound  this  warning  note  in  the  ears 
of  our  dear  Church  like  a  thunder-peal,  the  Church  that  does  not  take 
up  the  work  of  sending  the  gospel  to  the  lost  multitudes  of  the  nations 
practically  denies  her  Calvinistic  creed  and  enters  upon  a  period  of 
stagnation  and  death. 

We  lose  nothing,  but  gain  everything  by  our  Calvinism.  Here  is  a 
mill  moved  by  a  waterwheel.  The  power  is  furnished  from  a  small 
stream  which  at  times  runs  low — very  low— almost  dry.  In  such  dry 
seasons  the  wheel  runs  slowly  —if  at  all.  Such  is  human  efi'ort  ener- 
gized by  less  than  Calvinistic  theories  of  redemption.  Near  by  the 
mill  flows  a  mighty  river,  drawn  from  exhaustless  fountains  and 
melting  snows  in  the  mountains.  The  miller  turns  this  mighty,  steady 
current  into  his  little  rill.  He  has  gained  the  might  of  the  river.  The 
Calvinistic  view  of  redemption  gains  for  the  Church  God's  omnipotence 
with  which  to  move  the  wheels  of  mission  activity.  Hence  in  all  the 
ages  its  zeal  for  missions  has  had  a  firmness,  force  and  fervor  to  which 
all  other  systems  are  strangers. 

This  burden  of  missions  which  our  Calvinism  imposes  upon  us,  if 
ardently  borne,  will  become  a  blessing.  There  is  a  legend  that  God 
first  made  the  birds  without  wings.  They  could  run  on  the  earth  but 
could  not  soar  in  sighless  songs  through  the  skies.  Then  he  made  wings 

[213] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


and  commanded  the  birds  to  take  up  these  apparent  burdens  and  bear 
them.  They  took  them  upon  their  shoulders  and  folded  them  over 
their  hearts.  When  lo!  a  wonder  was  wrought.  The  burdens  grew 
fast  to  their  bearers  as  pinions  which  bore  them  heavenward.  All 
burdens  imposed  by  Calvinism  in  its  impulse  to  missions  become  wings 
to  bear  Christ's  Church  upward  and  onward  to  the  glory  of  His 
presence. 

The  missionary  responsibilities  which  our  Calvinistic  Creed  lays 
upon  us  are,  to  use  the  words  of  Rutherford,  "The  sweetest  burden 
that  ever  I  bore;  it  is  such  a  burden  as  are  wings  to  a  bird  or  sails 
to  a  ship,  to  carry  me  forward  to  my  desired  haven." 


[214] 


CHAPTER  XV 

A  SERMON   PREACHED   BY   THE   PASTOR,  THE   REV.  A.  M. 
ERASER,  D.  D.,  SUNDAY,  OCTOBER  16,  1904,  PREPAR- 
ATORY TO  THE  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION 

"All  the  paths  of  the  Lord  are  mercy  and  truth  to  such 
as  keep  his  covenant  and  his  testimonies/^  Psalm  XXV:  10. 

THIS  day  is  this  Scripture  fulfilled  in  your  ears."  We 
are  on  the  eve  of  the  celebration  of  the  one  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  organization  of  this  Church.  That 
means  one  hundred  years  of  human  worship  and  service 
and  a  hundred  years  of  divine  blessing;  one  hundred  years 
of  human  prayer  and  a  hundred  years  of  divine  response; 
a  hundred  years  of  human  doubts  and  divine  guidance  of 
human  struggles  and  divine  victories;  a  hundred  years  in 
v^hich  God  has  been  saving  souls  from  sin  and  death  and 
crowning  them  with  glory  and  immortality. 

Could  we  gather  back  here  this  morning  all  the  sounds 
of  worship  in  this  church  for  the  past  century,  there  are 
four  formulas  of  religion  which,  from  the  frequent  repeti- 
tion of  them,  would  be  distinct  above  all  the  confusion. 
'  'Child  of  the  covenant  I  baptize  thee  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen!  " 
"As  often  as  ye  eat  this  bread,  and  drink  this  cup,  ye  do 
shew  the  Lord's  death  till  He  come";  "I  pronounce  you 
to  be  husband  and  wife.  Whom  therefore  God  hath  joined 
together,  let  not  man  put  asunder";  "Earth  to  earth,  dust 
to  dust,  ashes  to  ashes.  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die 
in  the  Lord  from  henceforth,  yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that 
they  may  rest  from  their  labors;  and  their  works  do  follow 
them. "  These  four  formulas  are  the  signal  stations  in  the 
lives  of  all  those   whose  journey  heavenward  has  lain 

[215] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH.   STAUNTON.  VA. 

through  this  place,  and  each  of  these  formulas  is  an  embod- 
iment of  the  text,  '  'All  the  paths  of  the  Lord  are  goodness 
and  truth  to  such  as  keep  His  covenant  and  His  testimonies. ' ' 

The  text  tells  us  of  a  blessed  relationship  to  God,  and 
of  the  condition  upon  which  it  may  be  entered.  It  is  not 
said  that  all  the  paths  of  the  Lord  are  mercy  and  truth  to 
all  men,  but  only  to  such  as  "keep  his  covenant  and  his 
testimonies."  All  men  are  divided  into  two  classes,  those 
who  do  and  those  who  do  not  keep  His  covenant  and  His 
testimonies,  and  it  is  those  who  do  keep,  who  find  that  all 
the  paths  of  the  Lord  are  dropping  fatness.  Let  me  ask 
your  attention  then,  first  to  this  condition  on  which  we  may 
have  this  blessed  relation  to  God,  and  second  to  that  rela- 
tionship itself. 

I.  What  is  it  then  to  keep  the  covenant  and  the  testi- 
monies of  the  Lord? 

First:  What  is  the  Covenant?  Presbyterians  ought  to 
know.  The  word  belongs  to  the  Bible  and  it  belongs  to 
Presbyterian  history.  We  call  our  children,  the  "Children 
of  the  Covenant."  We  are  the  heirs,  we  dwell  in  the 
tents  of  the  men,  some  of  you  are  the  lineal  decendants  of 
the  men  who  are  known  in  history  as  the  "Covenanters." 
Men  whose  blood  flows  in  your  veins,  men  whose  blood 
flowed  in  the  veins  of  your  fathers,  who  through  their 
representatives,  Thomas  Lewis  and  Samuel  McDowell, 
conveyed  to  George  HI  their  '  'sentiments  of  loyalty  and 
allegiance,"  and  at  the  same  time  their  conviction  that 
his  right  to  reign  rested  upon  his  protection  of  human 
liberty,  and  pledged  their  lives  and  fortunes  to  maintain 
their  own  rights  at  whatever  sacriflce;  men  whose  blood 
flowed  in  the  veins  of  these  your  fathers,  before  ever  they 
had  left  the  original  home  of  the  race  in  Scotland,  were 
goaded  to  revolt  by  the  effort  of  Charles  I  to  wrench  from 
them  their  Presbyterian  faith  and  their  Presbyterian 
modes  of  worship  and  form  of  church  government.  There 
was  a  memorable  gathering  of  them  in  the  Grey  friars' 

[216] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

church  yard  in  Edinborough  and  they  prepared  an  elaborate 
statement  of  their  opinion  as  to  the  true  faith  once  de- 
Hvered  to  the  saints,  and  bound  themselves  together  by 
the  most  solemn  vows  which  can  affect  the  human  con- 
science to  maintain  these  opinions  at  any  cost.  This  docu- 
ment they  called  the  "National  Covenant,"  afterwards 
their  "Solemn  League  and  Covenant."  One  of  the  oldest 
men  among  them,  a  man  venerable  with  age  and  dignity, 
was  the  first  to  sign  his  name  to  it.  A  great  number 
signed  it,  among  them  were  women  in  a  state  of  exalted 
religious  fervor.  The  whole  parchment  was  covered  with 
names.  The  margin  was  all  written  over  with  signatures. 
Some  had  only  room  for  their  initials.  Some  had  written 
opposite  their  names  the  word  "till  death,"  and  some  had 
drawn  blood  from  their  own  veins  and  had  written  their 
names  in  their  own  blood.  And  when  called  to  account  on 
the  battlefield  for  the  doings  of  that  day,  and  their  banner 
was  unfurled,  it  had  this  legend  inscribed  upon  it,  "For 
Christ's  crown  and  Covenant."  We  ought  never  to  lose 
the  inspiration  of  such  memories  in  our  church.  We  should 
use  such  incidents  as  the  Israelites  used  the  memorial  heap 
of  stones  at  Jordan,  as  a  means  of  instructing  our  children, 
that  one  generation  may  declare  to  another  the  wonderful 
works  of  God  and  the  heroism  of  faith  He  has  wrought  in 
His  saints.  And  now  as  we  are  about  to  pause  to  review 
the  record  of  a  hundred  years  and  to  gather  inspiration 
for  another  term  of  work,  let  us  use  the  occasion  for 
refreshing  our  minds  as  to  the  meaning  of  their  words 
in  the  Bible  and  in  our  history. 

Our  catechism  asks  the  question,  "What  special  act 
of  Providence  did  God  exercise  towards  man  in  the  estate 
wherein  he  was  created?"  The  answer  is,  "When  God 
created  man.  He  entered  into  a  covenant  of  life  with  him, 
upon  condition  of  perfect  obedience,  forbidding  him  to  eat 
of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil  upon  the 
pain  of  death."    That  covenant  was  violated  by  Adam, 

[217J 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

and  so  we  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  it,  except  as  it  is 
a  memorial  of  divine  justice  and  mercy,  and  a  warning 
against  the  wastiii'g  of  opportunities,  and  except  as  we  are 
the  subjects  of  that  estate  of  sin  and  misery  which  the 
breaking  of  the  covenant  entailed  upon  us.  Again  the 
Catechism  asks,  "Did  God  leave  all  mankind  to  perish  in 
the  estate  of  sin  and  misery?"  The  answer  is,  "God  hav- 
ing out  of  His  mere  good  pleasure,  from  all  eternity, 
elected  some  to  everlasting  life,  did  enter  into  a  covenant 
of  grace,  to  deliver  them  out  of  the  estate  of  sin  and 
misery,  and  to  bring  them  into  an  estate  of  salvation  by  a 
Redeemer."  It  is  this  latter  covenant,  the  "covenant  of 
grace,"  announced  for  the  first  time  in  Eden,  when  our 
first  parents  had  broken  the  first  covenant,  repeated  to 
Noah,  to  Abraham,  to  Isaac  and  to  Jacob  and  then  re-af- 
firmed in  another  form  before  the  whole  host  of  Israel 
amidst  the  awful  manifestations  of  the  divine  presence  at 
Sinai,  it  is  this  covenant,  made  with  the  Son  of  God,  upon 
condition  of  his  obedience  and  his  sufferings  to  translate 
His  people  out  of  the  kingdom  of  darkness  into  the  kingdom 
of  God's  dear  Son,  that  is  the  covenant  of  the  Scriptures. 

Second:  What  is  it  to  "keqp"  the  covenant?  To  keep 
the  covenant  one  must,*  of  course,  be  in  the  covenant. 
How  can  one  keep  the  covenant  who  is  not  in  it?  But 
simple  and  self-evident  as  is  this  proposition,  it  antago- 
nizes a  specious  and  deadly  error  which  as  much  as  any 
other  characterizes  the  unbelief  of  the  age  in  which  we 
live.  We  see  it  in  the  prevailing  infidelities  and  in  the 
various  theological  abberations  of  the  day.  There  is  a 
tendency  to  magnify  what  have  been  called  the  "uncove- 
nanted  mercies"  of  God.  God  is  expected  to  show  mercy 
to  men  without  reference  to  any  atonement  for  sin  and 
apart  from  all  relations  to  Jesus  Christ  as  a  mediator. 
For  such  mercies  God  has  made  no  promise  and  has  entered 
into  no  covenant. 

The  infidel  will  say  that  God  (if  there  be  a  God)  is  our 

[218] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,    STAUNTON,  VA. 

Father,  and  if  He  is  our  Father,  He  must  be  kind  and  merci- 
ful, and  that  therefore  we  need  not  be  afraid  that  any  of 
those  dreadful  things  are  going  to  happen  to  us  which 
have  been  represented  to  be  the  consequences  of  sin.  He 
will  bid  men  quiet  all  alarm  and  live  in  peace.  0  wise 
man,  who  told  you  that  God  is  merciful?  You  did  not 
learn  it  from  creation  or  from  Providence.  The  heavens  de- 
clare the  glory  of  God's  almighty  power.  Every  object  God 
has  made,  both  in  its  own  structure  and  in  its  adaptation 
to  its  surroundings  declares  the  intelligence  of  the  Creator. 
The  pain  that  follows  every  broken  law  proves  the  justice 
of  God.  The  sunshine  and  the  rain,  night  and  day,  sum- 
mer and  winter,  towering  mountains,  rushing  rivers,  fer- 
tile plains,  bountiful  harvests  all  alike  tell  of  the  goodness 
of  God.  But  where  do  you  learn  that  God  is  merciful? 
Who  told  you  that  God  will  forgive  sins  and  receive  the 
sinner  as  a  son?  At  no  place  in  all  the  illimitable  uni- 
verse to  which  you  have  access  is  that  aspect  of  God's 
nature  revealed  except  in  the  Bible.  If  you  think  God  is 
merciful,  it  is  because  you  got  the  idea  from  God's  revealed 
Word,  If  you  take  it  from  that  source  you  should  take  it 
as  you  find  it  there  and  not  seek  to  add  to  it  or  subtract 
from  it.  You  have  not  only  distorted  the  idea  of  divine 
mercy,  you  have  robbed  it  of  its  brightest  glory,  viz: 
'  'That  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  him- 
self."  There  is  no  evidences  of  that  reconciliation  out  of 
Christ. 

We  see  the  same  thing  in  the  departures  from  ortho- 
doxy within  the  Church.  In  the  most  famous  ecclesias- 
tical trial  of  this  generation,  the  accused  minister  in  his 
defense,  selected  three  eminent  men,  one  a  Rationalist, 
who  distinctly  disavowed  any  evangelical  faith  in  Christ, 
another  a  Romanist  and  another  a  Protestant  Christian  and 
declared  that  while  those  three  persons  had  reached  the 
knowledge  of  God  in  different  ways,  they  had  all  alike 
attained  to  that  knowledge  and   were  therefore  equally 

[219] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

acceptable  to  God.  This  ignores  the  fact  that  it  is  not  the 
knowledge  of  God  alone  which  brings  eternal  life.  Christ 
said,  "This  is  life  eternal  that  they  might  know  Thee,  the 
only  true  God  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  hast  sent." 
However  sublimated  a  man's  knowledge  of  God  may  be, 
and  however  successful  he  may  be  in  exceptional  cases  in 
the  effort  to  be  like  God,  there  is  always  between  him  and 
God  the  insurmountable  barrier  of  a  broken  law  and 
unforgiven  sin.  The  first  question  that  confronts  the 
sinner  as  he  turns  from  sin  toward  God  is,  "How  may  I 
have  my  guilt  removed?"  The  Bible  tells  us  that  the  guilt 
may  be  removed  and  God's  mercy  secured  only  through  the 
atonement  of  Christ  which  forms  a  part  of  the  "Cove- 
nant of  Grace."  Jesus  said,  "God  so  loved  the  world." 
And  just  at  that  point  all  the  hosts  of  hell  break  in  with 
such  a  clamor  as  to  drown  the  rest  of  the  sentence  for 
many  people.  Satan  is  willing  for  men  to  believe  that 
God  loves  the  world  if  they  do  not  learn  too  much  about 
that  love.  Satan  has  that  fragment  of  scripture  embla- 
zoned on  his  banner.  He  deals  in  fragments  of  Scripture. 
He  used  them  ingeniously  in  the  temptation  of  Jesus  in 
the  wilderness.  It  was  a  partial  truth  with  which  he 
deceived  Eve  in  Eden.  "Ye  shalt  not  surely  die, "  he  said. 
It  is  with  the  same  he  would  destroy  men  to-day,  "God  so 
loved  the  world. "  "God  is  love."  "Ye  shalt  not  surely  die. " 
"There  is  no  occasion  for  fear."  But  what  is  the  state- 
ment of  Jesus  that  has  been  so  mutilated?  "God  so  loved 
the  world  that"— what?  Does  he  say,  "That  He  offered 
unconditional  pardon  to  all  men?"  No.  "God  so  loved 
the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son."  And 
why  did  He  give  His  only  begotten  Son  ?  Was  it  that  all 
might  be  saved?  No,  He  gave  Him,  "That  whosoever 
believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish  but  have  everlasting 
Hfe. "  So  the  saving  benefits  of  God's  love  for  men  come 
to  them  only  through  Christ.  John  had  laid  that  same 
truth   as  the   foundation  of  his  Gospel  in  the  opening 

[220] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

chapter.  "As  many  as  received  Him,  to  them  gave  He 
power  to  become  the  sons  of  God."  When  the  apostles 
were  called  to  answer  for  the  healing  of  the  impotent  man 
and  were  asked  in  what  name  they  had  wrought  the 
miracle,  they  replied  that  they  had  done  it  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  and  added,  "Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any  other; 
for  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given  among 
men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved."  Paul  said  to  the 
Corinthians,  "I  determined  not  to  know  anything  among 
you,  save  Jesus  Christ,  and  Him  crucified."  To  the 
Galatians  he  said,  "God  forbid  that  I  should  glory  save  in 
the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

But  still  the  question  presses,  suppose  one  is  in  the 
covenant,  what  is  it  to  keep  that  covenant?  To  answer 
this  question  let  us  return  to  the  Catechism.  There  the 
question  is  asked,  "Did  all  mankind  fall  in  Adam's  first 
transgression?"  The  answer  is,  "The  covenant  being 
made  with  Adam  not  only  for  himself,  but  for  his  pos- 
terity, all  mankind,  descending  from  him  by  ordinary 
generation,  sinned  in  him,  and  fell  with  him  in  his  first 
transgression."  That  answer  contains  the  statement  that 
the  first  covenant  was  made  with  Adam  not  only  for  him- 
self but  for  his  posterity.  While  the  Catechism  does  not 
bring  out  this  thought  with  reference  to  the  covenant  of 
grace  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  that  covenant  was  made 
with  Christ  for  His  people.  The  Bible  speaks  of  the  blood 
of  the  everlasting  covenant,  which  is  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  The  rela- 
tion we  sustain  to  that  covenant  is  that  of  beneficence. 
And  so  when  the  Catechism  asks,  "How  are  we  made 
partakers  of  the  redemption  purchased  by  Christ?"  the 
answer  is,  '  'We  are  made  partakers  of  the  redemption  pur- 
chased by  Christ  by  the  effectual  application  of  it  to  us  by 
His  Holy  Spirit."  And  when  it  is  asked,  "How  doth  the 
Spirit  apply  to  us  the  redemption  purchased  by  Christ?" 
the  answer  is,  '  'The  Spirit  applieth  to  us  the  redemption  pur- 

[221] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,   VA. 

chased  by  Christ  by  working  faith  in  us,  and  thereby  uni- 
ting us  to  Christ  in  our  effectual  calHng. ' '  In  other  words, 
the  covenant  is  between  the  Father  and  the  Son,  the  redemp- 
tion is  apphed  to  us  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  He  applies  it 
to  us  by  giving  us  faith.  Our  part  in  the  covenant  is  to 
receive  its  benefits  by  faith— it  is  to  accept,  to  welcome, 
to  embrace,  to  cherish,  to  hold. 

This  is  made  plainer  by  turning  the  attention  to  the 
last  clause  of  the  text  which  explains  the  preceding  one, 
"Such  as  keep  His  covenant  and  His  testimonies."  It  is  a 
question  of  accepting  the  testimonies  of  God.  He  has 
wrought  out  a  complete  and  finished  salvation  and  offers 
to  impart  it  without  money  and  without  price  to  any  who 
will  accept  it.  Redemption  is  a  revelation  to  man  of  an 
accomplished  good  which  man  is  by  faith  to  receive  on  the 
testimony  of  God.  The  only  co-operation  of  which  man  is 
capable  is  that  of  yielding  himself  trustfully  to  the  saving 
influences  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  yielding  his  members 
and  all  the  powers  of  his  soul  as  the  instruments  of  right- 
eousness to  be  used  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  venerable  Dr.  Charles  Hodge,  of  Princeton,  was 
once  a  guest  at  a  dining,  at  which  a  professor  of  another 
seminary  was  also  entertained.  The  other  prof  essor  made 
some  supercilious  reference  to  Princeton.  Dr.  Hodge 
replied,  *  'At  your  seminary  you  make  the  mistake  of  teach- 
ing young  men  to  think.  It  was  Adam's  thinking  that 
caused  him  to  lose  Paradise.  At  Princeton  we  let  God  do 
the  thinking  and  we  teach  our  students  to  believe."  It  is 
for  us  to  receive  what  God  is  pleased  to  tell  and  to  impart 
— that  is.  His  testimonies."  We  receive  his  testimony  as 
to  eternal  life— his  assurance  of  pardon,  and  peace,  and 
sanctifying  grace,  purchased  by  the  obedience  and  blood  of 
Christ.  It  is  to  receive  the  commandments  of  God  as  to 
the  divinely  appointed  rule  of  emancipation  from  sin  and  of 
attainment  of  holiness  and  bliss.  It  is  to  receive  the  prom- 
ises as  yea  and  amen  in  Christ.     It  is  to  receive  the  adop- 

[222] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

tion  of  sons  and  a  titleto  the  incorruptible  inheritance.  In 
short,  to  keep  the  covenant  and  the  testimonies  of  God  is  to 
have  faith  in  the  whole  revelation  of  redeeming  love  and 
lay  open  the  whole  nature  to  that  love. 

II.  To  all  such  as  keep  the  covenant  and  the  testimonies 
of  God,  "all  the  paths  of  the  Lord  are  mercy  and  truth." 
All  of  God's  dealings  with  them  are  in  kindness  and  faith- 
fulness. "The  mercy  of  the  Lord  is  from  everlasting  to 
everlasting  upon  them  that  fear  Him,  and  His  righteous- 
ness unto  children's  children;  to  such  as  keep  his  covenant 
and  to  those  that  remember  His  commandments  to  do 
them."  "All  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that 
love  God  to  them  who  are  the  called  according  to  his  pur- 
pose."  He  can  confidently  affirm,  "Surely  goodness  and 
mercy  shall  follow  me  all  the  days  of  my  life."  "They 
that  seek  the  Lord  shall  not  want  any  good  thing." 

Of  course,  all  this  may  be  contradicted  by  unbelief. 
Some  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  all  their  observation  of 
Christian  experience  is  opposed  to  such  claims.  They 
declare  that  all  things  seemed  to  conspire  against  the 
Christian,  instead  of  working  together  for  his  good.  His 
religious  scruples  deprive  him  of  a  great  deal  that  others 
enjoy.  They  are  a  tried  and  suffering  people  and  when 
they  come  to  die  they  shrink  from  death.  My  friend,  let 
God's  Word  complete  the  picture  you  are  trying  to  draw. 
"Others  were  tortured,  not  accepting  deliverance,  *  * 
others  had  trial  of  cruel  mockings  and  scourgings,  yea, 
moreover  of  bonds  and  imprisonment;  they  were  stoned, 
they  were  sawn  asunder,  were  tempted,  were  slain  with 
the  sword;  they  wandered  about  in  sheepskins  and  goat- 
skins; being  destitute,  afflicted,  tormented  (of  whom  the 
world  was  not  worthy),  they  wandered  in  deserts,  and  in 
mountains,  and  in  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth."  "Tribu- 
lation or  distress,  or  persecution,  or  nakedness,  or  peril, 
or  sword"  are  probably  their  lot  and  sometimes  they  cry, 
"For  thy  sake,  we  are  killed  all  the  day  long,   we  are 

[223] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

accounted  as  sheep  for  the  slaughter."  Jesus  prophesied 
that  persecution  would  come  to  His  people  and  the 
prophecy  has  been  literally  fulfilled.  The  paths  of  the 
Lord  have  often  seemed  to  be  paths  of  blood  instead  of 
paths  of  mercy  and  truth.  Such  bloody  trails  lay  through 
the  Roman  Empire,  through  France,  through  the  Wald- 
densian  Valleys,  through  Spain,  through  the  Netherlands, 
through  Smithfield.  through  the  mountain  fastnesses 
where  were  the  homes  of  your  forefathers,  through 
Armenia  and  China  in  our  own  generation.  Those  '  'who 
have  come  out  of  great  tribulation"  will  be  a  large  and 
conspicuous  host  in  Heaven.  The  wicked,  on  the  other 
hand,  seem  to  be  immune.  They  are  not  troubled  as  other 
men  are,  and  when  they  die  they  have  no  bonds  in  their 
death.  But  when  we  acknowledge  all  these  facts  they  do 
not  really  conflict  with  the  statement  that  "all  the  paths 
of  the  Lord  are  mercy  and  truth"  to  His  people.  To  show 
the  absence  of  conflict,  Jesus  combines  them  in  a  single 
statement,  "These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that 
in  me  ye  might  have  peace.  In  the  world  ye  shall  have 
tribulation;  but  be  of  good  cheer;  I  have  overcome  the 
world."  "Our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment, 
worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight 
of  glory."  "Whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth,  and 
scourgeth  every  son  whom  he  receiveth."  When  God 
promises  immunity  from  evil  and  the  giving  of  every 
blessing,  He  does  not  mean  that  we  shall  not  suffer  or  that 
we  shall  live  in  the  lap  of  luxury.  Sometimes  the  Chris- 
tian's sufferings  are  the  richest  part  of  his  inheritance, 
because  they  are  an  instrument  of  sanctification  to  him. 
As  it  is  the  rich  man  who  can  afford  to  pay  for  the  sur- 
geon's knife,  so  it  is  the  heir  of  God  who  can  afford  the 
blessings  of  sorrow.  When  Paul  asks  "Who  shall  separate 
us  from  the  love  of  Christ,  shall  tribulation,  or  distress,  or 
persecution,  or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or  sword?" 
He  answers  "Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than 

[224] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

conquerors  through  him  that  loved  us."  It  is  in  and  by 
these  very  things  that  we  are  exalted  to  be  "more  than 
conquerors. ' ' 

Gather  back  all  the  dead  who  have  worshipped  here 
these  hundred  years — from  yonder  cemetery,  from  the 
battle  fields  of  the  South,  from  distant  homes.  Ask  them 
if  they  made  any  mistake  in  embracing"  the  benefits  of  the 
covenant  or  accepting  the  testimonies  of  God,  and  there 
will  not  be  one  regret  expressed.  Ask  them  if  from  their 
present  point  of  view  they  regard  one  single  experience  of 
earth  as  a  real  evil  and  they  will  answer  with  Paul,  "Nay 
in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than  conquerors." 

Give  me  the  wings  of  faith  to  rise 

Within  the  veil,  and  see 
The  saints  above,  how  great  their  joys, 

How  bright  their  glories  be. 

Once  they  were  mourning  here  below. 

And  wet  their  couch  with  tears; 
They  wrestled  hard,  as  we  do  now, 

With  sins,  and  doubts,  and  fears. 

I  asked  them  whence  their  victory  came, 

They,  with  united  breath. 
Ascribed  their  conquest  to  the  Lamb, 

Their  triumph  to  His  death. 

Wise,  venerable,  servants  of  God!  Simple  hearted, 
pure  minded,  grand  old  people!  Loving,  laboring,  suffer- 
ing sants!  God  rest  you,  and  crown  you  unto  the  ever- 
lasting ages! 

In  nothing  has  the  goodness  of  God  to  His  people  been 
more  manifest  than  in  the  fact  that  He  allows  them  to  be 
co-workers  with  Himself  in  spreading  the  blessings  of  the 
Gospel.  God  said  to  Abraham,  "I  will  bless  thee  and  thou 
shalt  be  a  blessing, ' '  and  in  effect  He  says  the  same  to 
every  Christian.  Whoever  is  blessed  of  Him  becomes  a 
blessing  to  others.     In  proportion  as  he  is  blessed  does  he 


[225] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

become  a  blessing  to  others.  This,  too,  is  illustrated  in 
the  history  of  this  Church.  God  blessed  Tinkling  Spring 
and  the  Augusta  Stone  Church,  and  they  planted  this 
Church.  He  blessed  this  Church  and  there  went  out 
from  it  the  Second  Church,  Staunton;  and  Olivet  Church. 
It  reaches  out  its  hand  to  bless  the  spiritually  destitute 
in  the  mountains  of  West  Virginia.  It  has  its  represen- 
tatives in  China,  in  Korea,  in  Brazil,  in  Darkest  Africa, 
going  into  all  the  world  and  preaching  the  gospel  to  every 
creature. 

A  few  years  ago,  while  riding  with  a  friend  along  one 
of  the  beautiful  country  roads  which  so  adorn  this  Valley, 
our  drive  for  half  a  mile  lay  along  the  brow  of  a  hill  over- 
looking a  charming  valley.  A  shower  of  rain  had  just 
passed  over  it  and  made  doubly  beautiful  the  fresh  green 
of  early  spring.  Fields  of  wheat  and  corn  and  meadow 
grasses  climbed  high  on  the  hillsides  all  around,  and  the 
hill  tops  were  fringed  with  forests.  There  was  a  sound  of 
rushing  water  from  below  and  the  air  was  full  of  the 
music  of  birds.  While  we  gazed  and  admired  the  scene, 
a  light  cloud  gathered  over  the  little  valley  and  a  misty 
rain  began  to  fall.  Presently  a  beam  of  sunshine  shot 
through  the  higher  clouds  and  lit  up  the  whole  cloud  below 
and  the  falling  mist,  turning  them  to  the  whiteness  of  snow. 
So  filmy  was  the  falling  mist  that  through  it  we  could  see 
the  mountains  beyond,  rising  tier  above  tier  like  a  great 
stairway  to  the  sky,  carpeted  in  living  green  and  bathed 
in  softened  sunlight.  I  thought  this  is  like  the  garden  of 
the  Lord  and  a  field  which  the  Lord  hath  blessed.  Where 
He  commands  the  blessing  there  is  life  forevermore,  sweet 
fields  arrayed  in  living  green  and  rivers  of  delight,  and 
everything  that  hath  breath  shall  praise  the  Lord.  Over 
all  is  the  clear  shining  of  divine  love  and  through  it  all  the 
sun-lit  hills  of  glory. 


[226] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Let  Israel  now  say,  that  his  mercy  endureth  for- 
ever. 

Let  them  now  that  fear  the  Lord  say  that  his  mercy 
endureth  forever. 

He  will  not  suffer  thy  foot  to  be  moved:  he  that 
keepeth  thee  will  not  slumber. 

Behold,  he  that  keepeth  Israel  shall  neither  slumber 

nor  sleep. 

The  Lord  is  thy  keeper;  the  Lord  is  thy  shade  upon 

thy  right  hand. 

The  sun  shall  not  smite  thee  by  day,  nor  the  moon  by 
night. 

The  Lord  shall  preserve  thee  from  all  evil;  he  shall 
preserve  thy  soul. 

The  Lord  shall  preserve  thy  going  out  and  thy  coming 
in  from  this  time  forth,  and  even  for  evermore. 

Peace  be  within  thy  walls,  and  prosperity  within 
thy  palaces. 


[227] 


CHAPTER  XVI 

CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION  OF  THE  FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN 

CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VIRGINIA,  OCTOBER 

26  TO  30,  1904 

ON  the  above  dates  was  celebrated  the  one  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  organization  of  the  Church,  the 
following  being  the  program  of  the  exercises,  with 
the  addresses  delivered: 

Wednesday,  October  26th: 
11.00  A.  M. — Introductory  statement  and  address  of 
welcome  by  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Arrange- 
ments, Dr.  George  S.  Walker. 

Opening  sermon  by  Rev.  W.  E.  Baker. 
7.30  p.  M. — Historical  sketch  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  Staunton,  Virginia,  by  the  Hon.  Jos.  A.  Waddell. 
Thursday,  October  27th. 
11.00  A.  M.— Introductory  remarks  by  the  Rev.  R.  H. 
Fleming,  D.  D.  who  will  preside  over  these  exercises. 

Sketch  of  Tinkling  Spring  Church  by  the  Rev.  G.  W. 
Finley,  D.  D. 

Sketch  of  Hebron  Church  by  the  Rev.  Holmes  Rolston. 
Sketch  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Staunton, 
Virginia,  by  the  Rev.  W.  N.  Scott,  D.  D. 

Sketch  of  Olivet  Church  by  the  Rev.  E.  B.  Druen. 
Reception  and  lunch  after  morning  services  in  the 
ladies'  parlors  to  friends  from  the  country,  all  of  whom 
will  be  cordially  welcomed. 

8.00  P.  M.  —  An  evening  in  the  old  church. 

Friday,  October  28th. 
11.00  A.  M.— Sermon  by  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Rosebro,  D.  D. 
8.00  P.  M.— Reception  in  ladies'  parlors. 

[228] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

Saturday,  October  29th. 

11.00  A.  M. — Address  on  "Beginnings  of  Presbyter- 
ianism  in  Virginia,"  by  the  Rev.  James  P.  Smith,  D.  D. 
Sunday,  October  30th. 

11.00  a.  m. —Administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  by 
the  Rev.  W.  E.  Baker. 

3.30  P.  M.— Address  to  the  children  by  the  Rev.  W.  E. 
Baker. 

7.30  P.  M. — Closing  sermon  by  the  Rev.  W.  W.  Moore, 
D.  D.  

The  celebration  of  the  lOOth  anniversary  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  began  here  yesterday  morning  at 
11  o'clock  before  a  large  audience  in  the  large  edifice  of 
that  congregation.  The  choir  had  made  special  prepara- 
tion, for  the  music  and  the  singing  was  a  delightful  feature 
of  the  opening  of  the  celebration.  After  singing  and 
devotional  exercises  in  which  the  pastor.  Rev.  A.  M. 
Eraser,  D.  D.,  and  other  pastors  of  the  city  took  part, 
Rev.  R.  C.  Jett,  of  Emanuel  Episcopal  Church,  reading 
a  Psalm  and  Rev.  Isaac  W.  Canter  D.  D.,  of  the  Central 
Methodist  Church,  offering  a  prayer.  Dr.  George  S.  Walker, 
a  ruling  elder  in  the  Church,  and  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee of  arrangements,  stated  the  plans  and  purposes  of 
the  meeting. 

Dr.  Walker  said: 

As  chairman  of  a  committee,  and  on  behalf  of  this  Church,  it  be- 
comes my  duty,  as  well  as  my  privilege,  to  extend  a  hearty  welcome 
to  all  of  our  guests,  and  a  cordial  invitation  to  all  of  our  Christian 
friends  present  to  participate  with  us  in  this  celebration;  and  also  to 
explain  to  you  the  object  of  this  meeting. 

Over  one  year  ago,  at  a  joint  meeting  of  the  elders  and  deacons  of 
this  Church,  it  was  suggested  by  our  pastor,  Rev.  A.  M.  Eraser,  D. 
D.,  to  hold  a  memorial  meeting  to  celebrate  the  one  hundredth  anni- 
versary of  this  Church,  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  of  Staunton. 
The  suggestion  was  cordially  acquiesced  in,  and  now  the  time  has 
arrived. 

[229] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,   VA. 


I  will  say  it  is  not  our  purpose  to  make  a  display,  or  claim  undue 
prominence  or  notoriety.  It  is  our  desire  and  that  of  all  who  partici- 
pate with  us,  to  manifest  in  a  suitable  manner  our  gratitude  to  a  kind 
Providence  which  has  so  wonderfully  blessed  this  Church  since  its 
organization,  and  by  such  interesting  and  instructive  services  to  excite 
renewed  interest  in  the  glorious  work  of  our  Savior. 

What  may  be  said  of  this  Church  applies  equally  to  all  other 
churches,  and  not  only  to  our  particular  denomination,  but  to  all 
organized,  orthodox.  Christian  Churches  throughout  the  world.  In 
contemplating  the  history  of  this  Church,  it  not  only  gives  us  satis- 
faction to  recall  the  heroic  deeds  and  Christian  fortitude  of  the  good 
men  and  women  who  have  been  the  instruments  in  this  work;  but  also, 
although  extending  back  only  comparatively  a  short  space — 100  years 
—  in  comparison  with  the  time  when  the  first  Churches  were  organized, 
it  directs  our  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Christian  Church,  by  the 
direction  and  sanction  of  an  all-wise  and  merciful  God,  has  not  only 
stood  as  firm  as  a  rock,  but  has  steadily  increased  and  multiplied. 

Again  when  we  consider  the  trials  and  persecutions  through  which 
the  Christian  Church  has  passed,  and  which  it  has  survived,  it  is  a 
strong  evidence  of  its  Divine  origin,  and  not  the  creation  of  human 
device. 

You  are  already  acquainted  with  the  program,  so  it  will  not  be 
necessary  for  me  to  say  more  in  the  beginning,  than  that  our  brother, 
Mr.  Joseph  A.  Waddell,  one  who  is  eminently  fitted  for  the  task,  hav- 
ing been  an  active  member  of  this  Church  for  years,  and  whose  an- 
cestry dates  back  to  its  beginning,  has  kindly  consented  to  give  a  his- 
tory of  this  Church.  I  am  also  glad  to  say  our  Church  is  unencum- 
bered— that  as  a  preparation  for  this  occasion  it  has  paid  off  all 
its  debts. 

Again  I  will  remind  you  that  this  also  is  practically  a  family 
reunion,  as  you  will  observe  that  the  participants  in  these  exercises 
as  far  as  could  be  arranged,  have  been  or  are  directly  or  indirectly 
connected  with  this  Church.  For  example:  The  first  sermon  will  be 
preached  by  Rev.  W.  E.  Baker,  who  was  the  beloved  pastor  of  this 
Church  for  quarter  of  a  century;  Rev.  J.  P.  Smith,  D.  D.,  the  able 
editor  of  The  Central  Presbyterian,  is  a  son  of  a  former  pastor;  Rev. 
J.  W.  Rosebro,  D.  D.,  married  a  daughter  of  a  former  pastor;  Rev. 
W.  N.  Scott,  D.  D.,  Rev.  G.  W.  Finley,  D.  D.,  and  Rev.  Holmes 
Rolston  and  Rev.  E.  B.  Druen  are  now  pastors  of  churches,  whose 
history  or  organization  were  connected  with  this  Church. 

I  will  now  turn  over  the  further  direction  of  these  services  to  our 
pastor,  Rev.  A.  M.  Eraser,  D.  D. 


[230] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Dr.  Walker's  remarks  the  pastor 
introduced  Rev.  W.  E,  Baker,  former  pastor  of  the 
Church,  who  had  come  from  his  home  in  Georgia  to  take 
part  in  these  Centennial  exercises.  Mr.  Baker  began  his 
labors  as  pastor  of  this  Church  December  1,  1857,  was 
installed  as  pastor  April  23,  1859,  and  resigned  his  charge 
in  1884,  thus  serving  the  congregation  twenty-seven 
years,  or  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  time  since  the 
Church  was  organized. 

Mr.  Jett,  representing  the  Ministerial  Association,  then 
spoke  expressing  the  interest  of  all  the  preachers  in  the 
city,  in  the  Centennial,  and  their  pleasure  at  Dr.  Eraser's 
remaining  in  St3.unton.— Staunton  Dispatch  and  News 
October  27,  1904. 

OPENING  SERMON,   BY  REV.   W.  E.   BAKER 

[To  the  Pastors  Present:] 

Welcome,  Brethren,  to  participation  in  these  services  with  us. 
We  don't  believe  in  falling  from  grace,  but  we  believe  in  Methodists. 
We  don't  believe  in  immersion,  but  we  believe  in  Baptists.  We  don't 
believe  in  confirmation,  but  we  believe  in  Episcopalians.  We  are 
noted  for  magnifying  the  law  of  God,  so  are  you,  and  therefore  it  will 
suit  us  all  to  consider  the  text. 

Romans  3:20;  "  B>/  the  law  is  the  knoirledgc  of  sin,"  There  is  a 
vague  impression  among  men  that  they  are  sinners;  like  the  impression 
in  regard  to  the  internal  revenue  system,  or  as  to  what  is  necessary 
to  bodily  health;  but  such  an  impression  falls  far  short  of  knowledge. 
The  public  are  aware  in  the  general  that  tobacco  manufacturers  are 
required  to  pay  certain  taxes,  but  those  engaged  in  the  business  must 
have  definite  information.  The  use  of  a  cancelled  stamp,  or  of  an 
already  emptied  package,  may  subject  them  to  a  heavy  penalty. 

So  the  knowledge  of  sin  is  necessary  in  order  to  accurate  obedi- 
ence, and  accurate  obedience  is  fully  as  important  in  dealing  with 
divine,  as  with  human  authority.  God's  government  is  not  weaker  or 
laxer  than  man's.  He  is  merciful,  but  not  careless.  The  sinner  is  not 
let  off  any  more  than  the  forger,  because  he  meant  no  harm.  Our 
obedience  is  always  imperfect,  but  it  must  not  be  inaccurate.  The 
priests  of  old,  Aaron  and  Eli,  were  imperfect,  but  they  soon  learned 
that  to  be  accurate  was  indispensable.  Nadab  and  Abihu  offered 
strange  and  uncommanded  fire  before  the  Lord,  and  there  went  out 

[231] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


fire  and  devoured  them.  Uzzah  put  forth  his  hand  to  stay  the  ark, 
and  he  dropped  deadbe  cause  of  his  willful  error  and  ignorance  of  the 
law. 

There  must  be  definite  and  precise  knowledge  therefore,  of  the  law 
of  God  and  of  the  sin  which  consists  of  any  want  of  conformity  unto, 
or  transgression  of  it.  In  such  knowledge  alone  is  there  safety  and 
freedom  from  alarm.  The  man  who  touches  the  highly  charged  wire 
is  killed  instantly,  and  the  crowd  around  flee  in  terror,  as  the  crowd 
fled  from  the  ark  at  Perez-Uzzah,  Obed-Edom  alone  was  fearless, 
because  enlightened,  and  he  joyfully  received  the  object  of  the  peo- 
ple's terror  into  his  house.  So  the  skilled  electrician  does  not  partici- 
pate in  the  general  alarm  at  the  smell  of  burning  flesh  because  he 
knows  exactly  when  to  touch  and  where  to  touch.  And  the  experi- 
enced engineer  is  no  more  terrified  by  the  bursting  and  death-dealing 
steam  than  the  experienced  Christian  is  terrified  by  the  destroying 
earthquake  or  pestilence.  God  and  His  mighty  agents  act  according 
to  law,  and  all  that  we  need  in  order  to  safety  is  knowledge. 

And  let  us  not  imagine  that  there  is  any  general  amnesty  which 
renders  such  knowledge  unnecessary— that  the  pardon  of  our  sins 
removes  all  occasion  for  the  consideration  of  them.  The  pardon,  we 
should  remember,  is  always  preceded  by  the  trial,  and  is  never 
issued  until  the  question  of  guilt  is  settled.  To  pardon  before  trial,  is 
to  give  license  to  every  man  to  sin  as  he  pleases  and  without  restraint. 
We  have  nothing  therefore,  to  do  with  pardon  at  this  stage  of  the 
legal  process  against  us.  Our  business  now  is  to  go  into  court  and 
hear  the  charges  of  the  prosecutor,  and  see  that  our  case  is  well 
presented.  We  must  have  knowledge,  therefore,  and  all  the  knowl- 
edge we  can  get,  and  this  knowledge,  according  to  our  text  comes 
"by  the  law." 

First:  The  law  distinguishes— shows  what  is  right  and  what  is 
wrong.  Heathen  communities  have  very  erroneous  ideas  as  to 
morals.  Every  possible  crime  is  justified  in  some  one  or  other  of 
them.  Even  among  nominal  Christians  many  approve  what  God 
condemns.  True,  we  are  endowed  with  conscience  and  a  sense  of 
what  is  equitable,  but  this  is  not  enough.  The  laws  of  the  State  are 
intended  to  be  equitable,  but  an  equitable  man  cannot  tell  what  they 
require,  unless  he  reads  them.  Conscience  cannot  decide  when  a  title 
to  property  is  perfect.  Moreover,  the  law  strengthens  conscience  by 
its  definiteness.  The  yard  stick  is  a  powerful  aid  to  honesty.  It  is 
harder  to  cross  the  line  between  good  and  evil,  if  we  know  exactly 
where  it  is.  When  a  man  is  perfectly  certain  that  a  thing  is  wrong, 
he  is  not  so  apt  to  do  it,  and  he  is  more  seriously  disturbed  when  he 

[232] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,    STAUNTON,  VA. 


does  do  it.  We  would  have  more  carefulness  in  conduct,  if  every 
forbidden  spot  had  a  red  mark  around  it,  and  every  forbidden  pleas- 
ure were  labelled  poison. 

Secondly:  The  law  not  only  spreads  its  statute  book  before  us, 
but  it  provides  for  the  delivery  of  a  special  charge.  The  statute 
book  may  not  be  familiar;  it  may,  in  part,  be  intended' for  a' different 
time  and  place;  some  of  its  provisions  may  be  thought  obsolete,  and 
it  may  be  a  question  whether  they  will  be  enforced;  the  whole  seems 
in  a  measure  powerless  and  dead,  and  does  not,  like  the  charge  of  the 
living  judge,  bring  home  our  offenses  to  us.  This  charge  calls 
attention  to  what  is  present  and  actual;  puts  us  on  notice  of  what  we 
may  expect,  and  makes  every  offender  within  hearing  tremble. 

The  charge  of  the  human  judge,  at  the  opening  of  the  court,  sug- 
gests to  us  that  other  charge  which  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  makes 
by  His  Spirit  to  every  sinner.  True,  this  latter  has  not  yet  taken  His 
seat  on  the  great  white  throne  of  final  judgment,  but  as  the  Christ  was 
present  before  his  birth,  by  anticipation  in  the  angel  of  the  covenant, 
so  the  Judge  is  present  now  by  anticipation  through  His  represen- 
tative, the  Holy  Spirit.  This  representative  is  come;  is  present  among 
us;  and  it  is  His  office  work  to  convince  the  world  of  sin.  His  agency 
transmutes  the  dead  law  into  a  living  charge,  and  as  He  reasons  of 
righteousness,  temperance  and  a  judgment  to  come,  the  guilty  con- 
science trembles  at  the  sound. 

Thirdly:  The  law  indicts.  Transgressions  of  human  law  are 
very  common,  and  do  not  always  affect  ones  standing  in  the  com- 
munity. Almost  every  one  trangresses  at  some  point,  and  we  do  not 
cease  to  have  confidence  in  persons,  because  of  such  delinquency.  But 
when  I  write  for  the  character  of  a  proposed  agent  to  attend  to  some 
business  for  me  in  a  distant  part  of  the  country,  and  the  county  clerk 
replies  that  that  man  is  under  indictment  by  the  grand  jury,  for  larceny, 
to  be  tried  at  the  next  term  of  the  court,  I  drop  him  at  once.  The 
rumors  that  have  come  to  me,  about  the  man  may  be  favorable;  he 
seems  no  worse  than  many  others,  and  no  more  guilty  than  he  was  be- 
fore the  indictment,  but  the  official  word  outweighs  every  minor 
consideration. 

So  when  the  grand  jury  of  the  sixty-six  inspired  books  of  the  Bible, 
agree  in  bringing  an  indictment  against  a  man  as  a  sinner,  the  case 
begins  to  appear  much  more  serious  than  was  first  supposed.  And 
yet  this  is  the  legal  status  of  every  sinner  here.  Judicial  process  has 
various  stages,  and  he  is  at  the  stage  of  indictment.  The  statute 
book  has  been  spread  open,  the  charge  delivered,  and  now  the  indict- 


[233] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


ment  has  been  found,  and  the  trial  is  to  come  off,  at  the  next  term  of 
the  court,  the  only  and  the  final  term,  the  grand  assize  of  the  judg- 
ment. 

Fourthly:  The  law  arrests.  When  a  citizen  of  high  standing  is 
served  by  the  officer  of  the  court  with  a  warrant,  giving  information 
that  he  has  been  indicted  for  some  offense,  which  he  had  forgotten,  or 
had  hoped  was  unknown  to  others,  he  sinks  at  once  into  a  weak  and 
miserable  culprit.  Thus  it  was  in  the  case  of  Paul,  a  citizen  of  the 
highest  standing  among  his  fellows,  who  said,  giving  his  own  experience, 
"when  the  commandments  came,  sin  revived  and  I  died."  When  the 
offense  forgotten,  or  supposed  to  be  unknown,  was  presented  to  him 
in  the  form  of  an  indictment,  officially  served,  he  was  conscious  of  a 
collapse  that  was  like  death  itself.  Now  the  law  of  God  comes  to  you 
this  day,  O  sinner,  and  bids  you  consider  yourself  under  arrest.  Men 
under  arrest,  you  know,  are  not  always  imprisoned.  Their  circum- 
stances may  as  effectually  prevent  their  escape  as  bolts  and  bars.  There 
is  no  danger  that  you  will  escape.  You  are  in  prison  where  you  are. 
The  whole  world  is  a  prison  to  one  whom  God  arrests.  Though  you 
ascend  into  heaven,  or  make  your  bed  in  hell,  though  you  take  the 
wings  of  the  morning,  and  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea,  your 
keeper  remains  still  just  beside  you. 

Consider  yourself  then  under  arrest.  You  had  forgotten  perhaps 
your  offense,  but  there  is  the  exact  description,  copied  from  the 
records  of  the  court.  The  charge  against  you,  is  not  mere  current 
rumor,  or  private  opinion,  but  in  official  form,  proceeding  from  an 
authority  that  is  fully  responsible,  that  is  ready,  in  thus  joining  issue 
against  you,  to  take  all  risks  of  insult  and  injury  from  you  and  yours, 
and  that  is  solemnly  pledged  to  follow  up  the  case,  through  all  the 
stages  of  trial,  to  ultimate  condemnation. 

Fifthly:  The  law  particularizes.  No  suit  is  ever  brought  against  a 
man  because  of  his  general  bad  character.  No  one  is  ever  put  on  trial 
for  being  a  thief  unless  there  are  specifications — unless  he  has  stolen 
some  particular  thing,  at  some  particular  time,  from  some  particular 
person.  So,  you  cannot  be  a  sinner  in  general,  unless  you  are  a  sinner 
in  particular.  You  cannot  be  a  sinner,  unless  you  have  broken  some 
one  of  the  commandments,  and  if  you  are  not  a  sinner,  this  house  of 
mercy  is  no  place  for  you,  and  Jesus  is  no  Saviour  for  you,  seeing  that 
you  do  not  need  Him. 

If,  then,  you  are  a  sinner,  single  out  and  fix  your  attention  upon 
some  one  of  the  commandments  which  you  have  broken,  and  upon 
some  particular  instance  of  the  breaking  of  that  commandment. 
Take  the  commandment,  "Thou  shalt  not  steal. "  What  did  you  steal? 
From  whom?    At  what  time  and  place?    Or  let  it  be  the  ninth  in  the 

[234] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Decalogue.  Recall  some  instance  when  you  bore  false  witness  against 
your  neighbor.  Who  was  that  neighbor?  What  were  your  slanderous 
words  against  him,  and  where  were  you  when  you  uttered  them? 
These  interrogatories  I  put  not  to  witnesses,  but  directly,  as  is  the 
usage  of  the  courts  of  some  countries,  to  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  If 
you  have  forgotten  and  are  unable  at  once  to  reply,  a  little  cross- 
examination  may  make  the  matter  plain.  Have  you,  then,  in  any  way 
encroached  upon  your  neighbor's  interests?  Have  you  inordinately 
desired  the  good  things  of  this  world?  Have  you  been  envious  at 
the  prosperity  of  others?  Have  you  yielded  to  anxiety  about  your  tem- 
poral support?  These  are  four  of  the  twenty-seven  specifications, 
under  what  is  forbidden  in  the  eighth  commandment.  Or,  have  you 
been  silent  when  iniquity  called  for  reproof?  Have  you  opened  your 
mouth  maliciously  in  speaking  the  truth?  Have  you  been  rash  and 
hasty  in  censuring?  Have  you  countenanced  evil  reports?  These 
offenses  are  but  a  sample  of  the  forty-nine  ways  in  which  the  nmth 
commandment  may  be  broken. 

Hear,  then,  the  summing  up  against  you.  You  cannot  deny  that 
you  are  sinners  in  the  general.  You  have  confessed  it  a  thousand 
times  and  are  not  allowed  to  take  back  the  confession  when  the  trial 
comes  on.  True,  we  find  men  confessing  with  one  breath,  and  denymg 
with  the  next.  When  in  the  presence  of  sympathizers,  or  in  the  circle 
of  fellow  sinners,  they  say  without  reserve,  "0,  yes,  we  are  all  sinners, 
of  course,"  but  when  in  the  presence  of  those  who  condemn  and  where 
the  commandments  of  God  are  urged,  they  wipe  their  mouths  in  self- 
satisfaction,  and  say,  "All  these  have  we  kept  from  our  youth  up." 
They  confess,  when  there  is  no  fear  of  legal  proceedings,  yea,  glory  m 
their  wildness,  in  their  triumphs  over  virtue,  in  their  sharp  trading,  in 
their  evasion  of  the  law,  but  the  moment  they  are  overtaken  by  indict- 
ment and  arrest,  they  subside,  and  the  prudent  lawyer  bids  them  close 
their  mouths.  So,  the  wild  young  fellow  in  college,  glories  in  chicken- 
steaUng,  among  his  boon  companions  of  the  midnight  supper,  but 
when  his  father  of  legal  education  and  standing  assumes  a  tone  of 
severity,  and  tells  him  that  what  he  speaks  of  so  lightly,  is  a  peni- 
tentiary offense;  ah,  then,  of  course,  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
theft;  that  was  committed  by  the  others. 

Now  suppose  that  when  a  man  was  on  trial  for  alleged  fraud  in 
business,  every  idle  word  among  his  partners  and  confederates,  should 
be  before  the  court  and  admissible  as  evidence;  how  soon  would  that 
man  be  covered  with  confusion?  Such  confidential  and  careless  utter- 
ances, cannot  and  may  not  be  brought  up,  in  the  case  of  the  human 
tribunal,  but  it  is  different  in  the  case  of  the  tribunal  that  is  Divine. 
For,  we  are  distinctly  assured,  that  all  the  loose  and  light  talk  of  men 

[235] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


about  their  successful  roguery,  is  to  come  up  in  the  final  testimony 
against  them.  "For  I  say  unto  you,  that  for  every  idle  word  that 
men  shall  speak,  they  shall  give  account  thereof  in  the  day  of 
judgment." 

What  then,  my  hearers,  can  you  say,  or  how  will  you  clear  your- 
selves? You  have  confessed  that  you  are  sinners  in  the  general  and, 
therefore,  cannot  deny  that  you  are  sinners  in  particular.  You  have 
broken  the  law  of  God  as  a  whole  and,  therefore,  cannot  deny  that  you 
have  broken  the  separate  commandments:  "Thou  shalt  not  kill;  steal; 
commit  adultery;  bear  false  witness;  dishonor  father  or  mother. "  You 
are  guilty  with  regard  to  many  of  the  specifications  under  these  sepa- 
rate commandments  and,  therefore,  cannot  deny  that  you  are  guilty 
with  regard  to  the  main  charge. 

It  is  often  the  case  that  the  prisioner  or  the  witness  breaks  down 
under  the  terrible  examination  and  cross-examination  of  the  prosecutor. 
If  there  ever  was  a  case  for  inevitable  breaking  down,  it  is  that  of  the 
sinner  under  the  terrible  examination  and  cross-examination  of  the  word 
and  spirit  of  the  heart-searching  God. 

Sixthly:  The  law  exposes.  As  long  as  a  delinquency  is  not  made 
a  subject  of  judicial  investigation,  there  is  more  or  less  of  restraint  in 
speaking  of  it.  The  people  whisper  their  thoughts,  and  the  newspa- 
pers only  hint.  The  moment,  however,  the  law  touches  it,  all  restraint 
is  removed;  the  name  of  the  party,  his  family,  circumstances,  his  pri- 
vate life  is  divulged  and  published  throughout  the  world.  All  this  re- 
sults from  the  fact  that  the  law  is  essentially  public,  and  its  procedures 
and  investigations  are  so  also.  Its  first  step  always  is  to  impale  and 
hold  up  the  act  of  transgression  before  the  eyes  of  all  men.  And 
herein  largely  consists  its  power  and  the  salutary  awe  with  which  it 
is  regarded. 

So  the  law  of  God  produces  knowledge  of  sin  by  revealing  it  when 
secret  and  exposing  it  upon  the  housetop.  Not  indeed  that  we  are  to 
confess  at  once  everything  to  our  fellow  men,  for  that  would  bring 
ruin  and  chaos  and  turn  the  preliminary  into  final  judgment.  If,  my 
hearers,  the  true  character  of  every  individual  in  the  best  church  in  the 
land  were  known,  and  every  word  that  every  member  had  spoken  in 
twenty-five  years  against  every  other  member  were  published,  that 
church  would  be  torn  into  atoms,  and  no  two  persons  in  it  be  left  in 
friendly  relations  to  each  other. 

While  however,  we  are  not  at  present  for  good  and  sufficient, 
reasons,  to  reveal  our  shame  to  those  around  us,  our  case  is  really 
more  distressing  than  this.     To  confess  to  others,  who  know  little  of 


[236] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


us,  care  and  think  little  about  us,  and  can  do  us  little  of  good  or  evil, 
what  is  that  to  confessing  to  one  always  at  hand  and  whose  good 
opinion  is  absolutely  necessary — in  other  words  to  self  ? 

Multitudes  have  reeled  and  blurted  out  their  oaths  on  the  street, 
who  yet  have  never  acknowledged  to  themselves  that  they  were 
drunkards  and  blasphemers.  That  a  man  may  be  atrociously  wicked, 
and  yet  entirely  ignorant  of  the  fact  is  unquestionable.  And  so  abso- 
lutely necessary  is  the  good  opinion  of  self,  to  preserve  from  utter 
despair,  that  a  man  would  surrender  the  good  opinion  of  every  creature 
on  earth  to  retain  it.  He  would  rather  that  the  whole  world  should 
see  his  wickedness  than  take  a  look  at  it  himself. 

But  more  distressing  still  is  the  fact  that  you  are  to  confess,  not 
to  accompHces  and  sympathisers  not  merely  to  partial  self,  but  to  One 
infinitely  holy  and  just,  in  whose  hands  your  breath  is  and  whose  are 
all  your  ways. 

Men  think  it  easy  to  confess  to  God,  because  they  do  not  realize 
God.  Confessing  to  Him  seems  like  putting  their  lips  up  against  a  stone 
wall  or  pouring  out  their  words  to  the  wild  ocean.  Multitudes  of 
persons,  the  most  refined  and  delicate  ladies,  communicate  every  mean 
and  vile  and  filthy  detail  of  their  heart  and  life  to  the  ears  of  the 
priest,  who  have  never  yet  been  willing  to  reveal  a  single  word  of 
their  iniquity  to  God. 

Even  exposure,  however,  becomes  a  trifle,  when  the  sin  itself 
begins  to  sting.  No  man  or  woman  ever  had  a  thought  about  dress  in 
the  torture  chamber,  and  so  when  the  law  of  God  begins  to  reveal  our 
sin,  showing  the  particular  spot,  whence  the  dull  general  pain  proceeds, 
and  thrusting  its  keen  point  into  the  diseased  nerve,  the  agony  result- 
ing at  once  banishes  all  concern  as  to  how  we  appear  to  others. 

Seventhly:  The  law  condemns.  Condemnation  by  individuals  is 
very  common.  You  and  I  have,  no  doubt,  been  condemned  a  hundred 
times  by  those  around  us,  and  it  hasn't  disturbed  us  very  much. 
Every  one  in  the  church  condemns  some  of  their  fellow  members; 
but  it  is  very  different  when  the  church  authorities  in  their  official 
capacity,  pass  sentence  upon  an  individual.  The  sentence  may  be  a 
mild  one,  but  it  burns  like  a  charged  electric  wire. 

The  tremendous  power  of  such  a  sentence,  arises  from  the  con- 
viction in  us,  that  condemnation,  like  forgiveness,  is  a  prerogative  of 
God  alone.  "Who  art  thou  that  judgest  thy  brother,  or  condemneth 
another  man's  servant?"  Human  courts  are  multiplied,  because  it 
takes  a  long  time  for  the  morally  blind  to  see  the  difference  between 
the  rogue  and  the  honest  man,  and  they  have  a  real  authority  to 
condemn  only  so  far  as  they  are  divine  ordinances.  The  weight  of 
the  sentence  in  every  case  depends  upon  the  certainty  of  its  emana- 

1237] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


tion  from  the  great  and  righteous  God.  And  this  condemnation  is  not 
of  sinners  as  a  class,  or  of  the  race  as  a  race.  Condemnation  always 
relates,  and  can  only  relate  to  individuals.  When  a  rebellious 
province  is  conquered,  it  is  not  admissible  to  pass  sentence  upon  the 
whole  population.  Each  individual  must  be  tried  and  treated  sepa- 
rately. A  superior  ecclesiastical  court  can  never  sit  in  judgment 
upon  the  personel  of  an  inferior,  but  only  upon  its  official  acts.  To 
pass  sentence  upon  a  class,  an  organization,  a  majority  or  minority, 
would  violate  the  most  fundamental  principles  of  justice,  and,  at  once, 
raise  a  storm.  Each  individual  must  first  be  tried  by  regular  judicial 
process.  God  condemns  sinners  as  He  saves  them,  one  by  one,  and  the 
plea  of  the  penitent  always  is,  "have  mercy  upon  me."  The  charge  is 
not  against  you  in  common  with  others,  no  name  but  yours  appears  in 
the  indictment;  no  other  offender  is  associated  with  you,  to  divide  the 
guilt,  or  help  you  bear  the  shame. 

Finally  the  law  affixes  a  penalty  to  the  sin,  and  we  rate  the  sin  by 
the  penalty.  We  speak  of  a  penitentiary  offense.  If  there  is  no 
penalty  in  the  popular  judgment,  there  is  no  transgression.  If  the 
punishment  is  capital,  the  transgression  is  capital.  Our  knowledge  of 
sin  therefore  is  greatly  increased  when  we  learn  that  it  bringeth  forth 
death.  Moreover  the  very  idea  of  penalty  is  a  startling  one,  making 
the  difference  between  dying  on  the  gallows,  and  in  one's  bed.  Oh, 
the  awful  majesty  of  the  law  of  God!  What  a  volume  of  statutes  it 
spreads  before  us;  how  terrific  the  charge  which  it  brings  from  the 
Judge  of  all;  how  alarming  the  indictment  which  it  finds  against  the 
sinner,  how  hard  the  hand  of  its  arrest,  how  penetrating  its  examina- 
tion, and  pitiless  its  exposure;  how  mercilessly  it  condemns,  and  how 
overwhelming  is  its  penalty. 

Much  is  said  about  the  law's  delay,  yet  every  case  must  come  to 
trial  sooner  or  later  for  after  death  is  the  judgment.  "And  I  saw  a 
great  white  throne  and  Him  that  sat  on  it,  from  whose  face  the  earth 
and  the  heaven  fled  away."  "And  I  saw  the  dead,  small  and  great, 
stand  before  God,  and  the  books  were  opened,  and  the  dead  were 
judged  out  of  those  things  which  were  written  in  the  books,  according 
to  their  works." 

How  shall  we  appear,  my  brethren,  on  that  day?  How  are  we  to 
endure  the  siftings,  the  exposures,  the  light  flashing  in  upon  the 
secrets  of  bye  gone  years,  the  revelation  of  deeds  of  shame? 

Let  us  commit  our  cause  to  the  great  Advocate  of  sinners,  and 
then  when  the  final  trumpet  calls  us  to  the  bar,  we  shall  hear  His 
mighty  voice  pleading  in  the  hushed  assembly  on  our  behalf,  while  we 
in  the  back  ground  rivet  our  gaze  upon  His  glorious  form,  and  draw  life 

[238] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


and  hope  from  His  matchless  words.  Yes,  it  is  our  only  chance.  "If 
any  man  sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  even  Christ  the 
righteous." 

Mr,  Baker  closed  by  reciting  in  the  most  impressive 
manner,  that  great  old  hymn  of  the  penitent,  a  version  of 
the  51st  psalm: 

Show  pity,  Lord,  O  Lord  forgive, 
Let  a  repenting  rebel  live. 
Are  not  Thy  mercies  large  and  free, 
May  not  a  sinner  trust  in  Thee? 

THE    CENTENNIAL    ADDRESS    OF    HON.  JOSEPH    A.    WADDELL    DELIV- 
ERED   IN  THE  FIRST    PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  OCTOBER  26,  1904. 

At  Wednesday  night's  exercises,  after  short  religious 
service,  Hon.  Joseph  A.  Waddell  sketched  the  history  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  as  follows: 

We  have  no  picture  or  particular  description  of  Staunton,  in  the 
year  1804,  a  hundred  years  ago,  but  we  may  safely  say  that  it  was  a 
shabby  village.  It  was  founded  about  sixty  years  previously  on  the 
frontier  of  civilization,  when  the  war-whoop  of  Indians  was  some- 
times heard  in  the  vicinity.  The  number  of  inhabitants  was  probably 
from  eight  hundred  to  a  thousand.  The  dwellings  and  other  houses 
were  clustered  around  the  court  house  and  near  several  springs  which 
flowed  into  Lewis'  Creek.  A  postoffice  was  installed  here  in  1793,  and 
the  relative  importance  of  the  place  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact 
that  in  1789  the  number  of  offices  in  the  whole  United  States  was  only 
seventy-five.  Staunton  and  Winchester  were  the  first  towns  in  the 
English  possessions  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  The  only  house  of 
worship  in  town,  in  1804,  was  the  old  Parish  Church,  built  in  colonial 
times,  when  the  Church  of  England  was  established  by  law.  Possibly 
the  first  Methodist  Church  had  been  erected  by  that  time,  but  of  that 
I  am  not  sure. 

The  famous  Frenchman,  Rochefoucault,  visited  Staunton  in  1797, 
and,  in  his  account  of  his  travels,  says  that  a  Presbyterian  Church  was 
then  going  up  here.  He  is  certainly  mistaken  in  regard  to  the  denom- 
ination, as  the  Presbyterians  built  no  meeting  house  in  town  until 
more  than  twenty  years  after  1797.  It  may  have  been  the  first  Meth- 
odist Church,  and  yet  the  name  of  Staunton  Circuit  does  not  appear  in 
the  minutes  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  till  the  year  1806. 

The  Parish  Church  was  without  a  rector  and  without  adherents 

[239] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


after  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  was  occasionally  occupied  by  other 
denominations,  especially  Presbyterians  of  whom  a  small  number  lived 
in  the  town.     But  let  us  go  back  to  the  beginning. 

According  to  the  common  belief,  white  people  first  settled  in  the 
country  around  the  site  of  Staunton,  in  the  year  1732.  They  were 
natives  of  the  Province  of  Ulster,  Ireland,  descendants  of  people  from 
Scotland,  and  therefore,  have  been  called  Scotch-Irish. 

They  were  generally  plain,  hard-working  people;  a  few  of  them 
had  been  merchants  in  a  small  way;  others  were  mechanics;  and  most 
of  them  were  cultivators  of  the  soil.  They  had  fled  from  their  native 
land  on  account  of  some  degree  of  religious  persecution  and  hard  times 
there  generally,  and  came  here  to  enjoy  freedom  of  worship  and  to 
eke  out  a  livelihood  as  farmers  and  graziers.  Most  of  them,  if  not  all, 
landed  on  the  Delaware  River,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in  coming  to  this 
wilderness  region  crossed  the  Potomac  River  probably  near  the  site  of 
Shepherdstown,  Jefferson  County.  From  the  necessity  of  the  case 
their  first  care  was  to  provide  shelter  from  the  weather,  and  for 
several  years  they  were  occupied  in  building  rude  cabins  and  in  clearing 
the  land  for  cultivation.  They  cannot  be  accused  of  dispossessing  the 
Indians  of  their  land  as  no  Indians  then  had  villages  or  wigwams  in 
this  region.  It  is  not  likely  that  all  of  them  were  genuinely  pious; 
but  many  of  them  were,  and  all  were,  to  some  extent,  God-fearing 
people  and  Presbyterians.  They  brought  with  them  their  Bibles,  the 
Confession  of  Faith  and  Shorter  Catechism  and  Rouse's  version  of  the 
Psalms  of  David.  No  minister  came  with  them,  and  for  some  years 
they  were  without  the  ordinances  of  religion,  having  no  organized 
Church  or  congregation,  no  preaching  or  baptisms  or  observance  of 
the  Lord's  Supper.  Whether  neighbors  ever  met  in  one  or  another  of 
the  log  dwellings  to  unite  in  reading  the  Bible  and  in  prayer  tradition 
does  not  say. 

This  state  of  society  could  not  continue  long  among  a  people  who 
appreciated  the  benefits  of  religious  services,  and  longed  for  a  min- 
ister to  preach  the  Gospel  to  them,  to  baptize  their  infant  children, 
and  to  wait  upon  and  comfort  the  dying.  No  minister  but  one  of  the 
established  Episcopal  Church  was  then,  and  for  years  afterwards, 
authorized  by  law  to  perform  the  marriage  ceremony,  and  young 
people  wishing  to  be  married  had  to  take  long  trips  abroad  to  a 
clergyman  who  could  legally  unite  them. 

Therefore,  in  the  year  1737,  five  years  after  the  first  settlers 
arrived,  the  people  made  "supplication,"  as  it  was  called,  to  the 
Presbytery  of  Donegal,  in  Pennsylvania,  for  ministerial  supplies.  The 
Presbytery  could  not  grant  the  request  at  that  time,  but  subsequently 
sent   the    Rev.    James    Anderson  to  Virginia  to  intercede  with  the 

[240] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,    STAUNTON,  VA. 


Governor  of  Virginia  in  behalf  of  the  Presbyterians  of  the  colony,  to 
obtain  for  them  freedom  of  public  worship.  Mr.  Anderson  visited  the 
Valley,  and  in  1738  preached  the  first  sermon  ever  delivered  in  Augusta 
County,  at  the  house  of  Col.  John  Lewis,  about  two  miles  east  of 
Staunton. 

The  people  continued  their  "supplications"  to  Presbytery  for  a 
minister  to  live  among  them.  Having  heard  of  the  Rev.  John  Craig, 
a  young  preacher  recently  from  Ireland,  they  extended  a  call  to  him, 
which  he  did  not  immediately  accept;  but  in  the  year  1740  the  call 
was  renewed  and  prosecuted  before  Presbytery  by  Robert  Doak  and 
Daniel  Dennison,  commissioners,  who  were  sent  to  Pennsylvania  for 
the  purpose.  Thereupon,  in  September,  1740,  the  Presbytery  set 
apart  Mr.  Craig  for  the  work  of  the  Gospel  ministry  "in  the  south  ■ 
part  of  Beverly's  Manor."  As  he  himself  afterwards  recorded,  he 
was  sent  "to  a  new  settlement  in  Virginia  of  our  owne  people,  near 
three  hundred  miles  distant."  The  country,  he  says,  was  "without  a 
place  of  worship,  or  any  Church  order,  a  wilderness  in  the  proper 
sense,  and  a  few  Christian  settlers  in  it  with  numbers  of  the  heathen 
traveling  among  us. ' ' 

Mr.  Craig  probably  arrived  here  early  in  October,  1740,  and  in  the 
course  of  time  fixed  his  residence  in  the  county  four  or  five  miles 
northeast  of  Staunton.  He  kept  a  record  of  children  and  others 
baptized  by  him,  and  the  date  of  the  first  is  October  5,  1740.  The 
whole  number  of  baptisms  during  his  first  year  was  one  hundred  and 
thirty-three— sixty-nine  males  and  sixty-four  females.  In  order  to 
qualify  himself  according  to  law  to  preach,  on  February  26,  1741,  he 
appeared  before  the  Court  of  Orange  County,  which  had  then 
jurisdiction  in  the  Valley,  and  took  divers  and  sundry  oaths  appointed 
by  act  of  the  British  Parliament  to  be  taken. 

Up  to  the  time  of  Mr.  Craig's  arrival,  no  meeting  house  had  been 
built  in  the  settlement,  but  soon  afterwards,  log  houses  in  which  to 
hold  religious  services  were  erected,  first  near  the  present  Augusta 
Stone  Church,  and  then  at  Tinkling  Spring.  Nothing  was  known  at 
that  time  of  Staunton;  there  was  no  town  or  village  here  till  some 
years  afterwards.  The  early  settlers,  as  stated,  were  farmers  and  did 
not  congregate  in  towns;  they  sought  rural  shades  in  which  to  wor- 
ship God,  and  consequently  all  the  older  meeting-houses  in  the  county 
ante-date  the  churches  in  town— Mossy  Creek,  Rocky  Springs, 
Bethel  and  Brown's  Meeting  House,  as  well  as  Tinkling  Spring  and 
Augusta  or  Stone  Church.  After  the  first  court  house  was  built,  in 
1745,  and  a  town  began  to  grow  around  it,  the  religious  people 
residing  here  and  in  the  vicinity  worshiped  at  Tinkling  Spring. 

There  is  no  tradition  of  Mr.  Craig  ever  preaching  in  Staunton, 

[241] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


but  probably  he  did  so  occasionally,  and  in  the  court  house.  In  the 
Summer  of  1755,  the  Rev.  Hugh  McAden  came  this  way  on  his 
journey  from  Pennsylvania  to  North  Carolina,  and  in  his  diary  stated 
that,  on  the  first  Sunday  in  July,  he  preached  in  the  court  house  of 
Augusta  County. 

Mr.  Craig  died  on  April  21,  1774,  having  resigned  the  pastorate 
of  Tinkling  Spring  some  years  previously.  That  congregation,  there- 
fore, had  no  pastor  and  only  occasional  preaching,  till  about  the 
beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  war. 

James  Waddell  came  here  from  Lancaster  County,  and  purchased 
a  farm  within  the  bounds  of  Tinkling  Spring  congregation;  and  by  in- 
vitation of  the  people  preached  regularly  at  Tinkling  Spring  and  also  in 
Staunton.  Some  years  before  he  removed  to  the  county,  he  was 
elected  pastor  of  Tinkling  Spring,  but  declined  the  call.  As  far  as 
known,  he  never  was  regularly  installed  as  pastor.  The  unsettled 
condition  of  things  during  the  war  probably  prevented  attention  to 
such  matters. 

In  the  year  1783,  the  war  being  over,  Mr.  Waddell  was  formally 
called  to  become  pastor  of  the  united  congregations  of  Staunton  and 
Tinkling  Spring.  The  original  call  is  in  my  possession.  It  is  dated 
May  1,  1783,  and  was  signed,  in  behalf  of  the  Staunton  people  by 
Alexander  St.  Clair  and  William  Bowyer.  I  may  be  permitted  to  re- 
mark that  the  minister  was  my  paternal  grandfather,  and  that  one  of 
the  signers  of  the  call  was  my  mother's  grandfather.  The  call  par- 
ticularly specified  the  duties  required  of  the  pastor— to  preach  on  al- 
ternate Sundays  in  town,  to  catechise,  reprove,  and  administer  the 
ordinances  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  to  worthy  subjects;  and 
the  people  promised  on  their  part  respectful  attendance  and  Christian 
submission,  and  to  pay  the  annual  salary  (both  congregations)  of 
ninety  pounds  Virginia  currency,  equal  to  $300.00.  But  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  $300.00  at  that  day  was  worth  much  more  than  the 
same  sum  at  present. 

Thus  it  appears  that  in  1783  there  was  some  kind  of  organization 
in  the  town,  although  not  a  regularly  constituted  church. 

Mr.  Waddell  declined  the  call,  and  in  1784  removed  to  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  present  town  of  Gordonsville  where  he  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life. 

The  last  rector  of  Augusta  Parish  died  about  the  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  war,  and  it  was  many  years  before  Episcopal  services 
were  re-established  here.  The  Parish  Church  was  left  vacant  as  a 
place  of  Episcopal  worship,  and  until  the  year  1813  was  occupied  by  the 
Presbyterians,  when  a  preacher  could  be  obtained. 

What  Presbyterian  minister  officiated  in  Staunton  from  1784  till 

[242] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


1791  I  do  not  know.  In  the  latter  year,  the  Rev.  John  McCue  became 
-stated  supply"  for  Tinkling  Spring  and  Staunton,  but  he  probably 
preached  regularly  in  the  town  for  only  a  few  years.  In  1799,  and  one 
or  two  years  afterwards,  the  Rev.  John  Glendy,  recently  from  Ire- 
land, preached  occasionally  in  Staunton,  serving  several  county  con- 
gregations at  the  same  time.  _ 

All  that  has  been  said  heretofore  is  preliminary-a  mere  mtroduc- 
tion  to  our  history.  We  come  now  to  the  organization  of  a  Presby- 
terian Church  in  Staunton. 

On  Thursday,  May  9,  1804,  Lexington  Presbytery  met  at  Bethel 
Meeting  House  "-so  styled  in  the  minutes  of  Presbytery-and  on  the 
next  Saturday  the  following  minute  was  entered:  "Presbytery  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  commissioners  appointed  by  the  people  of  Staun- 
ton, requesting  to  have  that  society  taken  under  its  care  and  organized 
according  to  the  Presbyterian  form  of  government,  and  also  to  be 
regularly  supplied  until  a  stated  pastor  be  obtained.  Whereupon  the 
Rev  Messrs.  John  Montgomery  and  Benjamin  Erwin  were  appomted 
to  assist  them  in  their  organization,  and  to  supply  them  until  our  next 
meeting,  as  often  as  convenient."  Mr.  Montgomery  was  pastor  of 
Rocky  Spring,  and  Mr.  Erwine  of  Mossy  Creek. 

Messrs.  Montgomery  and  Erwin  appear  to  have  made  no  report  to 
Presbytery  of  their  proceedings  and,  therefore,  the  exact  date  of  the 
organization  is  not  known.     But  it  was  prior  to  November  6,  1804,  for 
on  that  day,   at  a  meeting  of  Presbytery  at  New  Providence,   "A 
memorial  was  presented  from  the  congregations  of  Brown's  Meeting 
House  (now  Hebron)  and  Staunton,  requesting  leave  to  present  a  call 
to  the  Rev.  William  Calhoon,  of  Hanover  Presbytery,"  which  was 
granted.     Mr.  Calhoon,  however,  did  not  accept  the  call  immediately. 
The  Church  consisted  originally  of  only  fifteen  or  twenty  members. 
The  first  ruling  elders  elected  and  ordained  were  Joseph  Bell,  Joseph 
Cowan   Andrew  Barry  and  Samuel  Clarke.     Mr.  Bell  is  supposed  to 
have  been  the  Joseph  Bell  who  was  born  in  the  county  in  1742  and  died 
in  1823,  the  father  of  the  late  James  Bell,  Esq.,  Major  William  Bell 
and  others.     He  lived  about  four  miles  north  of  town.    Mr.  Barry  and 
Mr.   Cowan   were  merchants  and  natives   of   Ireland.     The   former 
removed  from  this  community,  or  died,  before  my  day;  the  latter  was' 
well  known  by  many  persons  still  living  as  a  genuine  specimen  of  the 
Scotch-Irish  race.     Mr.  Clarke,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  came  here 
with  his  parents  when  he  was  a  child,  or  youth,  became  a  lawyer,  and 
lived  to  a  venerable  age.     Only  one  of  his  descendents  remains  in  this 
community -a  feeble  woman,  a  member  of  this  Church,  who,  for  the 
sake  of  her  grandfather,  and  her  own  sake,  deserves  kind  treatment 
at  our  hands. 

[243] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Mr.  Calhoon  removed  to  Staunton  in  the  year  1805,  and,  in  August, 
1806,  at  Brown's  Meeting  House,  was  installed  pastor  of  the  united 
congregations  of  Brown's  Meeting  House  and  Staunton.  The  Rev. 
William  Wilson,  of  Augusta  Church  and  the  Rev.  John  McCue,  of 
Tinkling  Spring,  were  the  committee  of  installation. 

The  Synod  of  Virginia  met  in  Staunton  on  October  18,  1811,  and, 
no  doubt,  held  its  sessions  in  the  Old  Parish  Church. 

During  Mr.  Calhoon's  pastorate,  in  the  year  1818,  the  first  Pres- 
byterian Church  building  was  erected.  The  Synod  met  here  again  in 
the  fall  of  that  year,  and  the  Rev.  John  H.  Rice,  a  member  of  the 
body,  states  in  his  diary,  that  he  arrived  in  Staunton,  October  15th,  and 
says:  "While  in  Staunton  I  experienced  the  kindness  of  the  people 
of  the  place,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  observing  that  they  were  in  a 
great  degree  attentive  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  by  the  members 
of  the  Synod.  The  Presbyterians  have  a  large  and  very  decent  house 
of  worship  in  the  town,  in  a  state  of  considerable  forwardness.  If 
completed  in  the  style  in  which  it  is  begun,  it  will  do  credit  to  the 
public  spirit  of  the  citizens." 

The  building  was  originally  a  very  plain  brick  house,  having 
neither  portico  or  steeple.  The  tower  for  the  bell,  at  the  north  end 
of  the  Church,  was  built  some  nineteen  or  twenty  years  afterwards. 
As  generally  known  the  house  is  now  a  part  of  the  Mary  Baldwin 
Seminary,  though  altered  in  appearance. 

At  a  meeting  of  Presbytery,  in  Staunton,  on  Thursday,  April  27, 
1826,  the  pastoral  relation  of  Mr.  Calhoon  with  this  Church  was  dis- 
solved, and  he  thereafter,  for  many  years,  devoted  his  whole  time  to 
Hebron  congregation.  Under  his  zealous  ministrations  the  number 
of  Church  members  greatly  increased;  and  it  is  said  that  at  the  close 
of  his  term  of  service  nearly  every  family  in  the  town  not  connected 
with  the  two  other  Churches  (Methodist  and  Episcopal)  was  repre- 
sented in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Mr.  Calhoon  was  a  rigid  disciplinarian  and  stood  in  awe  of  no  man. 
While  habitually  courteous,  he  did  his  duty,  as  he  understood  it, 
without  fear  or  favor.  Trials  before  the  Session  seem  to  have  been 
of  frequent  occurrence  during  his  time.  I  have  learned  this  from  a 
roll  of  paper  handed  me  by  a  daughter  of  Elder  Clarke,  long  after  her 
father's  death.  Mr.  Clarke  was  probably  the  Clerk  of  Session.  The 
trials  were  conducted  with  much  formality,  and  the  testimony  was 
written  down  in  the  manner  of  legal  depositions.  I  destroyed  the 
manuscripts,  but  have  some  recollection  of  two  of  the  cases  tried. 
One  was  that  of  an  old  lady,  who  habitually  absented  herself  from 
Church.  She  was  cited  to  appear  before  the  Session,  and  failing  to 
attend,    the  original   charge   was   dropped,    and   she  was  proceeded 

[244] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


against  for  contumacy.  The  other  was  the  trial  of  a  husband  and  wife 
for  permitting  dancing  at  their  home.  Nearly  all  the  young  society 
people  in  town  testified  as  witnesses.  According  to  my  recollection, 
the  papers  did  not  show  the  result  in  either  case,  and  no  other  Church 
records  of  that  time  have  been  preserved. 

The  next  pastor  was  the  Rev.  Joseph  Smith  (afterwards  D.  D.), 
a  native  of  Western  Pennsylvania,  who  was  installed  April  29,  1826. 
The  services  on  that  occasion  were  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Francis 
McFarland,  pastor  of  Bethel  Church,  and  the  Rev.  Henry  Ruffner, 
professor  at  Washington  College,  Lexington.  While  pastor  of  the 
Church,  Mr.  Smith  also  taught  a  classical  school,  being  principal  of 
the  Staunton  Academy. 

Mr.  Smith  was  relieved  from  his  charge  on  October  22,  1832. 
Towards  the  close  of  his  pastorate,  my  knowledge  of  people  and 
things  began,  and  I  will  relate  some  personal  recollections  of  the 
time.  Every  one  knows  how  permanent  and  vivid  the  recollections 
of  childhood  are. 

The  Church  building  stood  a  few  yards  from  a  plank  fence  which 
formed  the  boundary  of  the  lot  on  the  west  side.  The  ground 
between  the  fence  and  New  Street  was  unenclosed,  and  being  used  as 
a  brick  yard  was  one  of  the  most  unsightly  spots  in  the  town.  It  was 
afterwards  bought  by  the  congregation,  and  became  a  part  of  the 
church  lot.  There  were  three  gates  for  access  to  the  lot;  one  in 
front  on  Frederick  street,  and  one  on  each  side.  The  entrances  to 
the  church  corresponded  with  the  gates.  The  pulpit  was  a  tall 
structure  which  lifted  the  preacher  high  above  the  audience,  and  in 
front  of  the  pulpit  was  a  wide  aisle  extending  from  door  to  door. 
In  this  aisle  the  table  was  spread  at  sacramental  services.  Two 
other  aisles  extended  from  the  front  doors  to  the  cross  aisle.  There 
were  galleries  on  each  side  and  at  the  front  of  the  building,  and  one 
of  these  was  assigned  to  the  colored  people,  many  of  whom  attended 
the  preaching.  The  bell  was  hung  in  the  front  gallery,  and  when 
rung  the  window  opposite  to  it  was  hoisted  to  allow  the  sound  to 
escape.  The  noise  inside  was  intolerable  to  persons  who  happened  to 
be  in  the  house.  For  this  reason,  probably,  the  ringing  was  always 
some  time  before  the  congregation  assembled.  Services  in  the 
morning  usually  began  at  11  o'clock;  "early  candle  light"  was  always 
announced  as  the  time  for  evening  worship.  Tallow  candles  in  tin  can- 
dlesticks suspended  against  the  pillars  that  supported  the  galleries, 
were  used  at  night  to  light  the  room,  and  the  sexton  went  round 
every  twenty  or  thirty  minutes  to  snuff  them.  This  proceeding  also 
served  the  useful  purpose  of  rousing  sleepy  children  and  others. 
I  well  remember  the  interest  with  which  I  watched  the  movements  of 

[245] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


the  sexton,  especially  when  he  snuffed  a  candle  out  and  had  to  go 
back  to  light  it.  The  house  was  heated  in  cold  weather  by  means  of 
two  large  cast-iron  stoves  near  the  pulpit,  and  some  old  ladies  had 
foot  stoves  filled  with  live  coals  in  their  pews.  To  each  family  a  pew 
was  assigned,  and  all  the  family,  parents  and  children,  usually  sat 
together.  At  times  of  prayer  most  of  the  congregation  stood,  and 
most  of  them  with  their  backs  to  the  pulpit  and  the  officiating 
minister  (!) 

I  now  recall  most  of  the  people  who  composed  the  congregation, 
and  remember  the  places  they  occupied  in  the  Church.  In  the  eastern 
"amen  corner"  Mr.  Jacob  Swoope  sat,  his  hair  gathered  behind  his 
head  in  a  cue  and  tied  with  a  black  ribbon.  He  always  entered  by 
the  eastern  side  door,  and  always  claimed  entire  possession  of  his 
pew.  I  have  seen  him  order  some  persons  out  and  invite  others  in. 
Behind  him  sat  Mrs.  Harrouff  and  her  daughters,  Miss  Kitty  and  Mrs. 
Brady;  and  in  their  rear  sat  Katy  Woolwine  and  her  daughter,  Har- 
riet. In  the  first  pew  in  the  block  on  the  east  side  of  the  Church  the 
pastor's  family  sat.  The  next  pew  was  occupied  by  Mr.  Jacob  Ruff 
and  his  family.  After  them  came  the  family  of  Mr.  David  Gilkeson, 
and  immediately  in  their  rear  was  the  pew  where  I  was  required  to 
sit,  often  asleep,  with  my  father  and  mother  and  other  members  of 
the  family.  In  our  rear  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lease;  and  after  them 
Mrs.  Warden's  family.  Following  them  were  the  Halls,  Hartmans, 
Merritts,  Heiskells  and  John  and  William  Grove. 

Across  the  aisle,  in  the  eastern  double  block  of  pews,  were,  first, 
the  Harper  family,  and  following  them  were  the  pews  of  the  Craigs, 
Mrs.  Cuthbert  and  her  sisters,  Mrs.  Coleman  and  the  Misses  Bragg, 
Misses  Nancy  and  Sally  Waddell,  Captain  Sowers,  Mr.  Samuel  Clarke, 
Mrs.  Coalter,  and  the  Marshall  and  Paris  families,  who  came  from  the 
the  country. 

On  the  western  side  of  the  Church  sat  the  Bells  (Col.  Wm.  A.  and 
afterwards  his  father,  Mr.  James  Bell)  the  Baldwins,  Eskridges,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Jefferson  Stuart,  Kennedys,  Sperrys,  McClungs,  McDowells, 
Mrs.  Williamson,  Mr.  William  Clarke,  Mr.  William  Ruff,  the  family 
of  Dr.  Boys,  Col.  James  Crawford,  Mr.  James  F.  Patterson,  Mrs. 
David  W.  Patterson,  the  Brooks  family,  Mr.  Lyttleton  Waddell,  Mrs. 
Mosby,  and  Miss  Nancy  Garber. 

The  elders  were  Mr.  Cowan,  Mr.  Samuel  Clarke,  Mr.  Lease, 
Captain  Sowers,  Dr.  A.  Waddell  and  Col.  William  H.  Allen.  During 
the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Smith's  successor,  Messrs.  Lyttleton  Waddell 
and  William  A.  Bell  were  elected  and  ordained  elders. 

There  was  no  choir,  but  when  the  hymn  was  given  out,  William 
Cowan,  son  of  the  elder,  left  his  father's  pew,  and  standing  under  the 

[246J 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


pulpit,  would  raise  the  tune.  There  were  probably  twelve  or  fifteen 
tunes  known  to  the  congregation.  These  were  of  the  long,  short  and 
common  metre  sort.  But  sometimes  a  strange  minister  would  give 
out  a  "particular  metre"  hymn,  and  the  leader  would  have  to  ask  him 
to  select  another.  Of  course  there  were  no  solos  and  no  voluntaries  of 
the  modern  kind.  Captain  Sowers,  however,  was  fond  of  singing, 
and,  while  sitting  in  his  pew  waiting  for  the  service  to  begin,  would 
sometimes  start  a  familiar  hymn,  and  the  congregation  would  join  in 
as  best  they  could. 

The  singing  was  considered  a  part  of  the  solemn  worship  of  God, 
and  there  was  no  attempt  made  merely  to  please  the  ear,  the  spirit 
of  devotion  and  sense  itself  were  not  sacrificed  to  sound.  The  church 
music  of  the  day  was  well  described  by  Robert  Burns  in  his  poem 
called  "The  Cotter's  Saturday  Night": 

They  chant  their  artless  notes  in  simple  guise; 

They  tune  their  hearts,  by  far  the  noblest  aim; 
Perhaps   "Dundee's"    wild   warbling-  measures  rise. 

Or  plaintiff  "Martyr's,"  worthy  of  the  name; 
Or  noble  "Elgin"  beats  the  heavenward  flame, 

The  sweetest  far  of  Scotia's  holy  lays. 
Compared  with  these,  Italian  trills  are  tame; 

The  tickled  ear  no  heartfelt  raptures  raise; 
No  unison  have  they  with  our  Creator's  praise. 

So  much  for  Burns.  Another  eminent  man,  no  less  a  person  than 
Walter  Scott,  wrote  as  follows: 

"I  have  heard  the  service  of  high  mass  in  France  celebrated  with 
all  the  eclat  which  the  choicest  music,  the  richest  dress,  the  most 
imposing  ceremonies  could  confer  on  it.  Yet  it  fell  short  in  effect  of 
the  simplicity  of  the  Presbyterian  worship.  The  devotion,  in  which 
every  one  took  a  share,  seemed  so  superior  to  that  which  was  recited 
by  musicians  as  a  lesson  which  they  had  learned  by  rote,  that  it  gave 
the  Scottish  worship  all  the  advantage  of  reality  over  acting." 

Permit  me  to  cite  another  authority  on  this  subject:  St.  Augus- 
tine, so  called,  took  great  delight  in  sweet  sounds,  but  was  almost  in- 
clined to  consider  any  fondness  for  church  music  as  a  sin,  unless  his 
pleasure  in  it  was  derived  exclusively  from  the  words  and  not  from 
the  melody. 

Some  old-fashioned  Presbyterians  clung  to  the  old  tunes,  and  ob- 
jected to  the  new  ones  as  profane  songs.  At  a  certain  place  in  Scot- 
land, for  instance,  at  one  time,  when  the  precentor  introduced  a  new 
tune,  he  was  left  to  sing  it  alone  while  the  people  presisted  in  singing 
an  old  one.  In  this  country  also,  at  Pittsburg,  more  than  a  hundred 
years  ago,  when  a  new  tune  was  started  at  public  worship,  on  one 
occasion,  an  old  gentleman  stalked  out  of  the  house  and  never  entered 

[247] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


in  again;  and  an  old  lady  flaunted  herself  out,  exclaiming  as  she  fled  : 
"You're  all  going  to  Popery!"  Our  people,  however,  adopted  new 
tunes  very  readily,  and  I  remember  that  Ortonville  and  Balerma  were 
received  with  much  pleasure  when  first  introduced  here. 

But  the  primitive  custom  I  have  described  did  not  continue.  Mr. 
Amos  Botsford  came  from  New  York  to  assist  Mr.  Smith  in  the 
Academy,  and,  being  a  famous  singer,  he  organized  a  choir.  Since 
then,  in  the  opinion  of  most  people.  Church  music  has  been  in  a 
course  of  constant  improvement. 

Mr.  Botsford  removed  to  Lexington,  and  a  choir  was  soon  organ- 
ized there.  It  is  related  that  when  on  one  occasion  the  pastor 
exclaimed:  "Brethren,  why  is  religion  at  so  low  a  state  amongst  us!" 
a  venerable  native  of  the  old  country,  who  sat  on  the  pulpit  steps  on 
account  of  his  deafness,  pointed  to  the  choir  in  the  gallery  and  cried 
out  in  his  Irish  brogue,  "It's  because  of  that  thaater  up  there." 

The  celebrated  Dr.  Nettleton  spent  the  winter  of  1828-9  in  Staunton, 
and  his  labors  here  were  productive  of  much  good.  He  was  an  able 
and  very  judicious  man,  and  under  his  ministry  the  Church  was  greatly 
built  up  by  the  addition  of  many  persons  who  proved  permanent  and 
useful  members. 

From  the  dawn  of  my  recollection,  a  Sunday  School  was  conducted 
in  the  Church — first  in  the  audience  room  and  afterwards  in  the  gal- 
leries. For  some  years  a  question  book  on  Bible  history,  issued  by  the 
American  Sunday  School  Union,  was  used.  We  had  blue  tickets  and 
red  tickets  with  texts  of  Scripture  printed  on  them,  but  what  they 
signified  I  do  not  remember,  and  nobody  living  here  can  tell  me. 

I  may  add  that  in  taking  up  collections  in  Church,  the  hat  was 
within  my  recollection  always  used;  but  as  I  learned  from  several 
cloth  bags  attached  to  long  poles  stacked  in  a  corner  near  the  pulpit, 
those  implements  had  been  previously  used  to  receive  the  contributions 
of  worshipers. 

As  stated,  Mr.  Smith  resigned  his  charge  and  was  released  by 
Presbytery  October  22,  1832.  For  more  than  two  years  the  Church 
was  without  a  pastor,  the  pulpit  being  occupied  occasionally  by  various 
ministers.  The  Rev.  John  S.  Watt  officiated  as  stated  supply  for  six 
months  or  more. 

The  Rev.  John  Steele,  a  native  of  Monroe  County,  was  elected 
pastor  in  1834,  and  on  the  20th  of  June,  that  year,  was  ordained  and 
installed  by  Presbytery.  He  remained  here  rather  more  than  two 
years,  the  relation  being  dissolved  August  4,  1837,  and  then  emigrated, 
with  many  citizens  of  the  County,  to  the  State  of  Illinois. 

During  Mr.  Steele's  residence  here,  the  Rev.  Isaac  Jones  came  to 
this  country,  fresh  from  scenes  of  religious  excitement  in  Western  New 

[248] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


York.  After  holding  meetings  in  various  country  churches,  he  came 
to  town  and  conducted  services  here  for  two  or  three  weeks,  using  the 
methods  then  in  vogue.  He  preached  "the  terrors  of  the  law,"  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  Gospel,  and  some  persons  in  the  audience  were  tempted 
to  cry  out,  "Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilead;  is  there  no  physician  there?" 
Large  additions  were  made  to  the  roll  of  Church  members,  but,  alas, 
many  of  the  professed  converts  soon  fell  away. 

Rev.  Paul  E.  Stevenson,  of  New  York,  succeeded  Mr.  Steele  as 
pastor.  He  came  to  Staunton,  by  invitation,  in  the  fall  of  1837,  imme- 
diately from  the  Seminary  of  Princeton,  and  was  installed  June  8, 
1838.  While  he  was  pastor,  Augusta  Female  Seminary  (now  Mary 
Baldwin  Seminary)  was  founded  by  the  Presbyterian  ministers  and 
people  of  the  town  and  county,  at  the  instigation  and  through  the 
agency  of  the  Rev.  Rufus  W.  Bailey.  Mr.  Bailey  was  a  native  of  the 
State  of  Maine,  but  had  lived  for  many  years  before  he  came  to 
Staunton,  in  South  Carolina.  He  was  the  first  principal  of  the  school, 
and  conducted  it  for  some  years  with  considerable  success. 

As  far  back  as  I  can  remember,  and  for  years  previously,  there 
was  a  school  for  girls  in  Staunton,  more  or  less  under  the  auspices  of 
this  Church,  with  the  exception  of  an  interval  prior  to  1843.  The  first 
teacher  of  whom  I  have  a  vague  recollection  was  a  Mr.  Easterbrook, 
who  came  from  the  North,  and  went  from  here  to  Knoxville,  Tenn. 
He  lived  and  had  his  school  in  the  Seminary  building  now  known  as 
"Hill  Top." 

The  next  teacher  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thacker,  who  also  came  from 
the  North,  and  conducted  a  school  for  girls  in  a  large  frame  house 
which  stood  where  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building  now  is.  Afterward  he 
taught  boys  in  the  Academy.  How  long  he  lived  here,  and  where 
he  went  when  he  left,  I  do  not  know.  He  was  notable  chiefly  on  ac- 
count of  his  absent-mindedness  and  the  liberties  he  allowed  his  pupils, 
girls  and  boys,  to  take  with  him. 

Mr.  Robert  L.  Cooke  was  the  next  principal  of  a  school  for  girls, 
having  his  school  for  several  years  in  various  rented  tenements. 

The  Seminary  having  been  founded  and  incorporated  in  1845,  the 
centre  front  building  was  erected  on  the  ground  then  recently  pur- 
chased and  added  to  the  church  lot.  The  deed  for  the  ground  is  dated 
May  13,  1841,  but  I  am  under  the  impression  that  it  was  purchased, 
enclosed  and  improved  before  that  date. 

During  many  years  the  young  people  of  the  congregation  found 
recreation  and  enjoyment  nearly  every  winter  in  attending  singing 
school.  They  did  not  attend  balls  and  card  parties.  Indeed,  those 
pastimes  were  almost  unknown  in  Staunton.  If  the  dance  called 
"German"   and    the   game   called   "progressive  euchre"    had    been 

[249] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


invented  they  were  unheard  of  here.  It  was  during  Mr.  Stevenson's 
residence  here  that  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  country  was 
divided  between  the  Old  and  New  school  parties.  The  harmony  of 
many  congregations  was  seriously  disturbed,  and  many,  even  feeble 
churches,  were  divided,  as  was  the  case  in  Winchester  and  Harrison- 
burg. Here  there  was  hardly  a  ripple  of  discontent,  although  there 
was  not  perfect  unanimity  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  reasons  which 
led  to  the  division.  The  majority  of  our  people  favored  the  Old  school, 
and  the  minority  acquiescing,  the  affairs  of  the  congregation  went  on 
peacefully  as  before.  Throughout  our  whole  history,  the  Church  was 
not  vexed  by  any  serious  dissensions.  I  attribute  this  to  the  fact 
that,  as  far  as  I  know,  there  never  was  a  faction  or  individual  in  the 
Church  striving  for  the  ascendancy,  or  endeavoring  to  "lord  it  over 
God's  heritage." 

Mr.  Stevenson  was  relieved  from  his  charge  April  2,  1844,  and 
was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Robert  R.  Howison,  who  was  regularly 
installed. 

Mr.  Howison  occupied  the  pulpit  for  part  of  a  year,  preaching 
with  great  acceptance.  He  then,  by  advice  of  physicians,  was 
induced  to  demit  the  ministry.  He  resumed  his  original  profession, 
and  for  some  years  practiced  law  with  success.  Finally,  however,  he 
returned  to  the  ministry,  and  has  long  been  prominent  as  a  zealous 
and  efficient  preacher  of  the  Gospel  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State. 

The  Rev.  Benjamin  M.  Smith  was  the  next  pastor.  He  was 
installed  by  Presbytery  on  Saturday,  November  22,  1845.  During  his 
incumbency,  the  manse  was  erected,  chiefly  through  the  agency  of 
Mr.  Bailey.  Large  additions  to  the  Seminary  building  were  projected, 
and  the  first  election  of  deacons  was  made  while  Mr.  Smith  was 
pastor.  Immediately  before  coming  here,  he  was  pastor  of  the 
united  churches  of  Waynesboro  and  Tinkling  Spring.  Being  ap- 
pointed secretary  of  one  of  the  General  Assembly's  boards,  he 
resigned  his  charge,  in  1854,  and  removed  to  Philadelphia.  The  latter 
years  of  his  life  were  spent  as  professor  in  the  Union  Theological 
Seminary. 

The  Rev.  Jos.  R.  Wilson,  a  professor  in  Hampden-Sidney  College, 
accepted  a  call  from  the  congregation  in  December,  1854,  and 
removed  to  Staunton  the  last  week  in  March  following.  He  was 
installed  June  24,  1855.  While  he  was  here,  the  enlargement  of  the 
Seminary  previously  planned,  was  accomplished,  so  as  to  provide  a 
residence  for  the  principal  and  boarding  for  a  considerable  number  of 
pupils.  The  principal  room  of  the  centre  building  was  then  converted 
into  a  study  hall,  and  the  basement  room  of  the  new  eastern  wing  was 

[250] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


used  as  a  congregational  lecture  room.  A  vestibule  to  the  Church 
was  built,  the  old-fashioned  pulpit  was  lowered,  and  the  interior  of 
the  Church  was  otherwise  improved. 

Mr.  Wilson  remained  in  Staunton  a  little  more  than  two  years. 
His  relation  with  the  Church  was  dissolved  October  8,  1857,  and  he 
removed  to  Augusta,  Georgia. 

After  Mr.  Wilson's  departure,  there  was  a  vacancy  for  more  than 
a  year. 

The  Rev.  William  E.  Baker,  a  native  of  Georgia,  came  here  by 
invitation,  in  1857,  and  on  April  23,  1859,  was  installed  pastor  of  the 
Church. 

He  remained  here  for  about  25  years,  having  been  released  on 
February  20,  1884. 

While  Mr.  Baker  was  pastor,  the  congregation  had  increased  in 
numbers  so  greatly  as  to  require  more  ample  accommodations,  and 
the  present  building  was  erected  on  the  lot  donated  by  Misses  McClung 
and  Baldwin,  of  the  Seminary.  The  work  was  begun  July  16,  1870, 
and  completed  in  the  spring  of  1872;  but  on  the  first  Sunday  of  Decem- 
ber, 1871,  the  congregation  began  to  worship  in  the  basement  room. 
The  last  service  in  the  old  Church  was  held  on  Sunday,  June  25,  1871, 
and  the  house  was  then  abandoned  to  workmen,  to  be  fitted  for  the 
use  of  the  Seminary. 

In  1872,  the  number  of  Church  members  enrolled  was  271. 

Probably  about  the  year  1870,  a  member  of  this  Church,  the  late 
Mr.  T.  B.  Coleman,  began  to  hold  prayer  meetings  in  an  humble 
dwelling  two  miles  east  of  town.  These  meetings  grew  into  a  Sunday 
School  conducted  by  members  of  this  Church,  and  finally  into  Olivet 
Church,  the  expenses  of  which  have  been  largely  sustained  by  our 
congregation. 

In  the  year  1875  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  was  authorized 
by  Presbytery,  on  the  petition  of  some  of  the  members  of  this  church, 
and  on  the  14th  of  November  of  that  year,  seventeen  persons  were 
transferred  from  this  to  that  Church.  As  is  not  unusal  under  such 
circumstances,  there  were  for  a  time  some  heartburnings  between  the 
members  of  the  two  organizations;  but  all  feeling  of  that  kind  has 
long  since  disappeared.  The  members  of  the  mother  Church  enter- 
tain no  sentiment  but  fraternal  regard  towards  the  younger  society, 
and  rejoice  with  its  members  in  its  growth  and  prosperity.  The  little 
company  of  fifteen  or  twenty,  of  a  hundred  years  ago,  have  grown  into 
two  bands,  numbering  together  more  than  a  thousand,  about  an 
eighth  or  ninth  of  the  population  of  the  town. 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Church  met 
here  in  May,  1881. 

[251] 


Rev.  Wm.  E.  Baker 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


The*  envelope  system  was  adopted  to  some  extent  during  Mr. 
Baker's  pastorate.  From  an  early  day  the  pews  of  the  Church  were 
rented  like  stalls  in  a  market,  and  for  many  years  no  collections  even 
were  taken  up  in  public  meetings.  The  false  opinion  prevailed  that 
to  mention  money  at  worship  militated  against  the  idea  of  a  gospel 
without  money  and  without  price.  The  minds  of  the  officers  and  con- 
gregations were  disabused  of  this  sentiment  about  the  year  1870,  when 
the  discovery  was  made  that  it  was  a  duty  and  privilege  "to  worship 
the  Lord  with  our  substance."  The  plan  of  renting  pews  was  changed 
in  the  course  of  time  ;  it  never  had  worked  satisfactorily,  and  year 
after  year  there  was  a  deficiency  in  church  revenues.  The  system 
was  finally  abolished,  the  doors  of  the  Church  were  thrown  open,  and 
all  persons  were  invited  to  enter  and  occupy  seats  assigned  to  them, 
without  any  stipulation  as  to  payments,  each  being  left  to  contribute 
according  to  his  ability  and  willingness. 

Since  Mr.  Baker's  time  we  have  had  three  pastors,  whom  I  will 
merely  mention.  First,  the  Rev.  John  P.  Strider,  a  brilliant  young 
preacher,  but  of  frail  physical  constitution,  who  was  installed  Novem- 
ber 23,  1884,  and  relieved  September  24,  1885.  Second,  Rev.  D.  K. 
McFarland,  greatly  beloved,  installed  March  24,  1886,  and  relieved 
March  15,  1892.  Third,  the  Rev.  A.  M.  Fraser,  present  incumbent, 
installed  May  21,  1893,  and  long  may  he  be  spared  to  minister  to  us. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Dr.  Strider,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  Dinwiddle 
conducted  services  hei'e  for  many  days,  and  partly  as  the  result,  on  a 
succeeding  Sabbath,  one  hundred  persons  were  publicly  received  into 
membership  of  the  Church. 

The  remains  of  Drs.  Strider  and  McFarland  repose  in  Thornrose 
Cemetery,  and  are  guarded  by  our  people. 

I  cannot  tell  what  salaries  the  various  pastors  received.  I  doubt 
if  Mr.  Calhoon  received  as  much  as  $400  a  year.  Mr.  Joseph  Smith 
hardly  received  more  than  $600.  Mr.  Baker  received  for  some  years 
$800,  increased  gradually  before  he  left,  to  the  sum  now  paid. 

I  have  thus  given  all  the  leading  facts  in  the  history  of  our  Church. 
I  should  have  described  the  various  pastors  more  particularly,  and 
paid  tributes  of  respect  to  some  departed  members  of  the  Church;  but 
as  I  could  not  speak  of  all  alike,  I  have  avoided  making  invidious  dis- 
tinctions. I  must,  however,  say  a  few  words  more  in  regard  to  the 
three  pastors  who  served  the  congregation  longer  than  others,  and 
whom  I  remember. 

Mr.  Stevenson  was  remarkably  gifted  in  prayer,  and  was  "mighty 
in  the  Scriptures."  To  use  a  common  expression,  he  seemed  to  have 
the  Bible  at  his  tongue's  end.  He  always  had  a  fit  quotation  in  every 
emergency,  and  hardly  ever  failed  to  give  book,   chapter  and  verse. 

[253]     , 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


Soon  after  he  came  here  he  was  introduced  to  a  young  girl  whose 
parents  had  recently  died,  and  advised  her  to  read  the  27th  Psalm, 
where  she  would  find  the  words,  "When  my  father  and  my  mother 
forsake  me,  then  the  Lord  will  take  me  up."  Having  gone  through 
deep  waters  in  his  religious  experience  he  knew  how  to  succor  those 
who  were  immersed  in  the  flood.  The  first  sermon  he  preached  was 
from  Hebrews  VI  :  18 — "That  by  two  immutable  things,  in  which  it 
was  impossible  for  God  to  lie,  we  might  have  a  strong  consolation, 
who  have  fled  for  refuge  to  lay  hold  upon  the  hope  set  before  us." 

Dr.  B.  M.  Smith  was  remarkable  for  his  fluency  of  speech  and  the 
fullness  of  his  instructions.  His  more  formal  sermons  rarely  did 
justice  to  his  abilities  ;  but  his  Sunday  night  discourses  and  especially 
his  lectures  at  Wednesday  night  meetings,  were  unsurpassed  in  excel- 
lence. He  always  appeared  to  do  better  when  he  had  apparently 
made  little  or  no  preparation. 

Mr.  Baker  was  here  twenty-five  years,  one-fourth  of  the  century 
just  closed.  Mr.  Baker  did  a  great  work.  He  built  up  the  congregation, 
and  to  him  chiefly  are  we  indebted  for  this  commodious  and  beautiful 
house.  He  was  specially  helpful  to  the  poor  and  friendless.  He  was 
devoted  to  Sunday  School  work,  and  had  a  peculiar  talent  for  enter- 
taining children.  For  young  people  generally  he  manifested  much 
sympathy,  and  often  took  much  trouble  and  labor  to  provide  pastimes 
for  them. 

As  far  as  I  know,  only  three  persons  who  were  here,  as  children, 
in  the  time  of  Dr.  Joseph  Smith,  now  survive.  One  generation  after 
another  has  passed  away  since  this  Church  was  founded.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  present  congregation  have  reason  to  cherish  the  memory 
of  many  who  have  gone  before;  and,  stronger  in  number  and  means 
than  ever,  they  should  cling  together  with  increased  devotion  to  the 
Lord  and  in  love  to  one  another. 

We  are  not  divided. 

All  one  body  we. 
One  in  hope  and  doctrine. 

One  in  charity. 


The  Centennial  exercises  at  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  this  City  were  resumed  October  27th,  at  11 
o'clock.  Rev.  Robert  H.  Fleming,  D.  D.,  of  the  West- 
minster Church,  Lynchburg,  presided  over  the  meeting. 
Dr.  Walker  in  his  v^elcoming  address,  on  the  first  day, 
spoke  of  the  close  association  personally,  or  by  family  ties, 

[254] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


of  those  participating  in  the  meetings,  with  the  congrega- 
tion here.  He  might  have  stated  that  Dr.  Fleming  is  a 
direct  descendant  of  John  Lewis,  the  first  settler. 

After  devotional  exercises,  being  introduced  by  Dr. 
Eraser,  Dr.  Fleming  said: 

A  gifted  speaker— at  a  meeting  of  the  Scotch-Irish  Congress- 
related  an  incident  of  one  of  England's  forceful  statesmen.  Morning 
after  morning  he  would  enter  the  family  gallery,  and  stand  over 
against  the  family  portraits.  "I'll  not  forget,  I'll  be  true."  His 
son  watched  him  in  awe.  One  day  his  father  led  him  into  the  gallery 
and  as  he  stood  facing  the  pictures— "You  too,  must  hear  them  talk." 
"Father,  how  can  they  speak?"  "My  boy,  for  many  years,  they 
have  spoken  to  me.  and  each  picture  has  its  own  message.  One  says, 
'Be  true  to  me';  another  says,  'Be  true  to  your  race';  another  says 
'Be  true  to  thyself;  another  one,  my  mother,  says,  'Be  true  to  my 
God.'  "  We  are  to-day  to  look  upon  the  faces  of  our  ancestry,  to 
rehearse  the  story  of  John  Lewis  and  Col.  Patton,  and  Pastor  Craig 
and  Waddell  and  Wilson  and  Speece  and  Scott,  how  they  wrought  and 
worshipped.  No  doubt  the  message  which  their  lives  will  bring  us, 
is  "Be  true  to  them,  to  ourselves  and  to  our  God." 

The  story  we  are  to  hear  is  of  beginnings  of  "  foundations,"  laid 
broad  and  deep. 

The  author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  has  inscribed  at 
his  own  request  on  his  tomb,  "Author  of  the  Statute  of  Virginia  for 
Religious  Freedom."  But  it  was  the  Scotch-Irish  people  of  Virginia 
who  brought  the  question  before  the  Legislature  in  an  able  memorial 
from  the  Presbytery  of  Hanover.  The  paper  had  been  prepared  with 
great  care,  and  went  straight  to  the  mark.  In  1777,  and  in  subse- 
quent years,  this  Presbytery  of  Hanover,  presented  additional  me- 
morials on  the  same  subject.  It  was  a  bold  enunciation  of  grand 
principle,  important  to  Church  and  State  alike. 

Jefferson  had  before  him  when  he  drew  his  immortal  statute, 
these  memorials  of  the  Hanover  Presbytery.  In  1786  the  bill  became 
a  law,  and  the  victory  for  Religious  Freedom  was  won.  One  of  the 
gifted  sons  of  the  Puritans,  Mr.  Choate,  has  said : 

"In  the  reign  of  Mary,  a  thousand  learned  Englishmen  fled  from 
the  stake  at  home  to  the  happier  seats  of  Continental  Protestantism. 
Great  numbers  of  them  came  to  Geneva.  There  they  awaited  the 
death  of  the  Queen  and  then,  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth,  went  back  to 
England.  I  ascribed  to  that  five  years  in  Geneva  an  influence  that 
has  changed  the  history  of  the  world.     In  that  brief  season  English 


[255] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Puritanism  was  changed  fundamentally  and  forever."  But  it  was  in 
Scotland  that  the  Geneva  faith  builded  high  and  strong  its  most  en- 
during monuments.  It  was  John  Witherspoon,  a  lineal  descendant  of 
John  Knox,  whose  courageous  speech  turned  the  scale  when  the  fate 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  trembling  in  the  balance.  He 
said:  "There  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men,  a  nick  of  time,  we  perceive 
it  now  before  us.  To  hesitate  is  to  consent  to  our  own  slavery.  That 
noble  instrument  upon  your  table,  which  insures  immortality  to  its 
author  should  be  subscribed  this  very  morning  by  every  one  in  this 
house.  He  that  will  not  respond  to  its  accents  and  strain  every  nerve 
to  carry  into  effect  its  provisions,  is  unworthy  of  the  name  of  free- 
man." 

The  Scotch-Irish  were  the  largest  and  the  most  potent  elements 
in  the  formation  of  our  American  history.  "The  sons  of  men  who  on 
the  2d  of  December,  1688,  shut  the  gates  of  Derry,  and  starved 
rather  than  surrender  to  the  tyrant,  James,  were  trained  to  endure 
the  hardships  of  the  frontier  life  that  awaited  them  here,  and  had 
nerves  which  did  not  flinch  or  quiver,  however  great  the  foe  before 
them." 

These  men  did  not  flinch  nor  quiver,  because  there  was  a  conscience 
within,  a  history  behind,  a  future  before,  and  a  God  above  them. 

Memorial  celebrations  such  as  we  are  engaged  in  to-day,  are  to 
enable  us  to  tell  our  children  the  deeds  of  our  fathers,  and  to  impress 
upon  them  the  greatness  of  their  responsibility  which  must  soon  pass 
to  them.  We  are  to  ask  them,  as  they  bow  before  God  and  the 
family  and  in  the  sanctuary— which  are  the  glory  and  the  defense  of 
our  land — to  resolve  that  they  will  be  true  to  their  fathers,  to  them- 
selves and  to  their  God. 

In  one  of  the  darkest  periods  of  the  Revolution,  Washington 
said:  "If  retreat  I  must,  it  will  be  to  rally  the  Scotch-Irish  of  the 
Valley  of  Virginia  around  the  standard,  and  with  them  to  make  a 
final  stand  for  freedom." 

When  Tarleton  ravaged  the  country  beyond  the  "Ridge"  it  was 
under  the  inspiring  words  of  the  pastor  of  one  of  the  churches  whose 
history  we  are  to  hear  to-day,  that  every  man  grasped  his  weapon 
and  went  forth  to  beat  the  invader  back. 

The  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but  mighty  through 
God  to  the  hurling  down  of  strongholds. 

"Though  numerous  hosts  of  mighty  foes"  are  enlisted  for  the 
destruction  of  our  liberties  and  our  religion,  there  are  those  who  will 
to-day  keep  the  faith,  and  rally  around  the  old  banner  that  has  come 

[256] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


to  us  from  the  hands  of  the  brave  and  true,  and  who  will,  with  closed 
ranks,  make  a  final  and  successful  stand  for  the  Bible,  the  home,  the 
Church  and  the  Sabbath. 

The  descendants  of  the  men  who  built  Augusta,  Hebron,  Tinkling 
Spring,  Bethel,  Staunton  First  Church,  never 

Dread  the  skeptic's  puny  hands 

While  near  the  school  the  Church  spire  stands 

Nor  fear  the  blended  bigots  rule 

While  near  the  Church  spire  stands  a  school. 

SKETCH  OF  TINKLING  SPRING  CHURCH,  BY  REV.  G.  W.  FINLEY,  D.  D. 

Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen : 

The  present  speaker  must  at  the  outset  plead  guilty  to  more  than 
wonted  embarassment  and  trepidation.  For  he  is  called  to  personate 
or  represent  a  venerable  Mother,  over  whose  honored  head  the  sunshine 
and  the  shadows  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  years  have  passed. 
Consequently,  he  can  but  fear  that  your  patience  may  be  sorely  tried, 
if  he  truly  represents  her,  when  he  remembers  the  strong  temptation 
to  the  aged  of  both  sexes  to  live  in  the  past  and  to  become  garrulous 
as  they  recall  and  recount  its  history. 

But  before  he  attempts  to  tell  you  who  and  what  that  Mother  is, 
and  how  through  all  these  years  she  has  sought  to  serve  and  honor  her 
God,  it  is  his  pleasing  duty  to  come,  in  her  name,  to  greet  to-day 
and  to  express  her  love  for  and  pride  in  a  daughter  who  wears  upon 
her  brow  the  crown  of  a  century's  loving  and  faithful  service  for  the 
glory  of  God  and  for  the  good  of  man.  She  would  rejoice  with  that 
daughter  not  only  in  all  that,  under  God,  has  been  accomplished  during 
the  hundred  years  that  have  passed,  but  also  in  the  glowing  hopes  of 
the  future,  and  especially  now  that  the  shadow  which  so  recently 
seemed  to  be  gathering  has  passed  away,  and  the  tie  that  threatened 
to  be  broken  has  been  made  only  the  stronger  and  tenderer.  She 
joins  you  in  the  earnest  prayer  that  the  bond  which  now  so  happily 
and  strongly  unites  you  to  your  honored  and  beloved  pastor  and  binds 
him  to  you  may  grow  in  strength  and  tenderness,  in  unbroken  love 
and  service  until  the  Master  says  to  him,  "Well  done  faithful  servant! 
enter  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 

But  this  venerable  Mother  would  not  forget  to  bring  her  warm  and 
loving  greeting  to  the  granddaughter  who  is  here  present  in  the  vigor 
and  hope  of  her  youth  to  participate  in  and  add  to  the  joys  of  this 
memorable  day.  She,  with  you,  rejoices  in  the  rapid  growth  of  that 
granddaughter  in  strength  and  usefulness,  and  congratulates  her  upon 
the  bright  outlook  for  the  days  to  come,  as  she  wins  back  from  Texas, 

[257] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


that  true  son  of  the  Old  Dominion,  her  honored  pastor,  and  with  him 
strives  to  extend  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  at  home  and  abroad 
Long,  long  may  they  thus  labor,  with  the  richest  blessings  of  God  upon 
all  their  efforts! 

But  it  is  now  time  that  your  speaker  should  turn  to  the  special 
duty  and  privilege  assigned  him  and  try  to  tell  you  something  of  the 
origin  and  life  of  Tinkling  Spring  Church.  To  do  this  you  must  with 
him  cross  the  seas  to  and  before  the  days  when  "the  bold,  bad  Clavers" 
rode  with  his  fierce  dragoons  over  * '  the  land  of  the  blue  bell  and  the 
heather,"  and  like  another  Saul  of  Tarsus  "breathing  out  threaten- 
ings  and  slaughter  "  for  those  who  sought  to  worship  their  God  ac- 
cording to  the  teachings  of  His  Word  and  the  dictates  of  their  own 
consciences.  Exposed,  as  they  were,  to  be  shot  or  sabered  on  the 
moors  of  Scotland,  or  led  to  the  rack,  the  gibbet  and  the  stake,  many 
of  her  sturdy  sons  sought  refuge  in  the  North  of  Ireland,  in  the  vain 
hope  that  there  they  might  worship  God  unmolested. 

Disappointed  in  this  they  turned  their  eyes  to  the  new  lands 
beyond  the  ocean,  and  about  the  time  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  landed  at 
Plymouth  Rock  they  sought  to  emigrate  to  America.  But  under  what 
seemed  then  to  be  strange  and  incomprehensible  providences  all  of  their 
desires  and  efi'orts  were  baffled  for  a  hundred  years  or  more.  Yet 
these  providences  are  now  seen  in  the  light  of  history  to  have  been  the 
wise  and  gracious  ordering  of  the  God  whom  they  sought  to  serve.  He 
had  for  them  a  nobler  and  grander  work  than  they  ever  conceived. 
Kept  still  in  the  crucible  of  oppression  they  were  given  time  not  only 
to  fully  organize  the  Church  they  were  to  transplant  to  new  shores, 
but  as  we  have  already  been  told  so  eloquently  to-day,  so  to  keep  the 
Gates  of  Derry  and  to  battle  on  the  banks  of  Boyne  River  as  to  win 
and  preserve  for  themselves  and  the  world  the  principles  of  Protest- 
antism and  the  inestimable  blessings  of  civil  and  religious  liberty. 

About  1732,  when  what  is  now  Augusta  County  was  part  of 
Orange  County,  which  then  extended  from  its  boundaries  in  Eastern 
Virginia  northward  to  the  Great  Lakes,  westward  to  the  Mississippi 
and  southward  to  the  present  state  of  Tennessee,  a  little  band  of  that 
sturdy  Scotch-Irish  race  that  has  left  its  impress  so  wide  and  deep 
upon  the  world's  history,  under  the  leadership  of  John  Lewis  and 
John  Preston,  came  as  the  first  settlers  to  the  region  of  which  Staun- 
ton is  now  the  centre.  The  country  between  the  Blue  Ridge  Moun- 
tains and  the  North  Mountains  was  then,  for  the  most  part,  a  beau- 
tiful prairie,  abounding  in  game  and  much  frequented  by  hunting 
parties  of  Indians. 

The  men  of  that  band  of  immigrants  were  grave.  God-fearing, 
loyal  to  their  King  so  long  as  he   governed   according   to   law,   but 

[258] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,    STAUNTON,  VA. 


seekers  after  liberty  of  conscience  and  determined  to  choose  for  them- 
selves those  who  should  rule  and  teach  them  in  their  local  affairs, 
industrious,  frugal  and  lovers  of  sound  learning. 

They  had  scarcely  reared  their  rude  log  dwellings  in  this  wilder- 
ness before  they  are  found  petitioning  Synod  and  Presbytery  for 
preachers. 

In  1737  and  1738  they  sent  to  Donegal  Presbytery,  of  the  Synod  of 
Philadelphia,  for  help,  and,  in  the  latter  year.  Rev.  Mr.  Anderson  was 
sent  to  intercede  with  Governor  Gooch  for  their  relief  from  laws  that 
oppressed  them  as  dissenters.  He  visited  the  Valley  and  preached  at 
the  house  of  John  Lewis,  near  the  present  site  of  Staunton,  the  first 
sermon,  perhaps,  ever  preached  in  that  region. 

In  1739  a  Rev.  Mr.  Thompson  visited  the  settlement  and  preached 
for  awhile,  and  a  little  later  Rev.  John  Craig  came  and  was  called  to 
be  the  pastor  of  what  was  then  known  as  the  "Congregation  of  Shen- 
andoah," and  soon  after  as  the  "Congregation  of  the  Triple  Forks  of 
the  Shenandoah."  Robert  Doak  and  Daniel  Dennison  presented  and 
urged  the  call  before  Presbytery.  Mr.  Craig  accepted  it  and  entered 
upon  his  work  in  1740  as  the  fird  regularly  settled  Presbyterian  minister 
in  the  colony  of  Virginia.  His  field  extended  along  the  Blue  Ridge 
from  near  Port  Republic  to  Greenville  and  across  the  Valley  west  of 
Staunton  to  the  North  Mountain  and  along  it  to  a  point  below  Mossy 
Creek,  and  across  the  Valley  again  to  the  beginning.  His  flock  was 
scattered  and  worshipped  according  to  tradition  in  a  number  of  places 
in  log  buildings  and  arbors.  But  they  were  mainly  gathered  about 
two  points:  One,  8  miles  north  of  Staunton  on  what  is  now  the  valley 
pike  and  known  as  the  Old  Stone  or  Augusta  Church;  the  other,  7 
miles  southeast  of  Staunton,  called  Tinkling  Spring,  perhaps,  from 
some  peculiar  sound  made  by  a  cold  spring  that  breaks  out  from  the 
hill  on  which  the  Church  now  stands.  Mr.  Craig  lived  between  these 
two  places  and  served  both  as  one  congregation  until  1764,  and  after- 
wards confined  himself  to  the  Old  Stone  Church  up  to  his  death  in  1774. 

There  is  no  certain  information  of  the  time  when  the  first  church 
building  was  erected  at  Tinkling  Spring.  Dr.  Foote,  in  his  "Sketches 
of  Virginia"  (2d  series)  writes  of  a  log  building  "finished  off  by  the 
widow  of  John  Preston."  Mr.  Craig  left  a  diary  from  which  it  is 
evident  there  was  difficulty  in  deciding  upon  the  site  for  building  in  the 
southern  part  of  his  field,  and  that,  finally,  against  his  wishes,  it  was 
located  on  the  little  hill  where  the  present  Church  stands.  Rewrites: 
"April  14,  1745,  *  *  this  being  the  first  day  we  meet  at  the 
contentious  meeting  house  about  half  built.     T.  S." 

Dr.  Waddell,  in  his  "Annals  of  Augusta  County,"  quotes  a  record 
that  shows  that  the  people  of  Tinkling  Spring  in  1741  appointed  their 

[259] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


trusty  and  well-beloved  friends — James  Patton,  John  Finley,  George 
Hutchinson,  John  Christian  and  Alexander  Breckenridge— "to  manage 
their  public  affairs,  to  choose  and  purchase  land  and  build  a  meeting 
house  on  it,  to  collect  pastor's  salary,  etc.,  etc.,  and  to  account  twice 
each  year  to  the  minister  and  session  for  the  discharge  of  their 
duties."  We  further  find,  in  the  same  valuable  book,  that  in  1747 
James  Patton,  John  Christian,  James  Alexander  and  William  Wright 
"chosen  commissioners  and  trustees,"  received  a  deed  from  William 
and  John  Thompson  for  110  acres  of  land  "for  the  use  of  the  Presby- 
terian congregation  of  Tinkling  Spring. ' ' 

Thus  was  planted  in  prayer  and  faith  and  effort  this  venerable 
Church,  the  fruitful  mother  of  other  strong  and  flourishing  Churches 
in  this  county,  and  which  has  for  over  150  years  wielded  through  her 
ministers  and  members  so  mighty  an  influence  for  good  upon  Church 
and  State  not  only  in  Virginia,  but  throughout  the  South  and  West 
and  in  the  councils  of  the  nation. 

During  Mr.  Craig's  pastorate  large  accessions  to  the  Scotch-Irish 
colony  were  made,  and  they  became  a  strong  defense  against  the 
inroads  of  the  savage  Indians.  They  worked  and  worshipped  with 
their  trusty  rifles  by  their  side,  and  were  often  called  to  follow  the 
trail  of  some  cruel  band  that  with  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife  burst 
upon  some  of  their  families. 

About  1798  a  Church  was  erected  in  that  part  of  their  con- 
gregation gathered  in  and  about  Waynesboro,  and  another  building  at 
the  same  place  in  1824.  In  1846  or  1847  this  portion  of  the  congre- 
gation was  set  off  and  organized  as  a  separate  Church.  The  Presby- 
terians living  in  and  near  Staunton  attended  Tinkling  Spring  Church, 
of  which  they  were  members,  until  1804,  when  they  were  organized 
into  a  separate  Church  and,  for  awhile,  united  with  Hebron  in  the 
support  of  a  pastor.  The  present  large  and  comfortable  brick 
building  at  Tinkling  Spring  was  planned  and  erected  under  Dr. 
Dabney's  pastorate,  between  1846  and  1852. 

Kept  by  the  good  hand  of  her  God  the  old  Church  still  survives, 
and  with  her  daughters  still  nourishes  the  faith  and  moulds  the  lives 
of  worthy  descendants  of  the  grand  men  who  founded  it  in  stormy  and 
troubulous  times. 

Tinkling  Spring  has  had,  since  its  organization,  with  some  inter- 
vals of  vacancy,  eleven  pastors,  among  whom  are  found  some  of  the 
most  notable  men  of  their  day: 

Rev.  John  Craig,  D.  D.,  1740-1754;  Rev.  James  Waddell,  D.  D., 
1776-1781;  Rev.  John  McCue,  1790-1818;  Rev.  James  C.  Wilson,  1818- 
1839;  Rev.  B.  M.  Smith,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  1840-45;  Rev.  R.  L.  Dabney, 
D.  D,,  LL.   D.,   1847-1852;  Rev.  C.  S.  M.  See,  D.  D.,  1856-1870;  Rev. 

[260] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


G.  B.  Strickler,  D.  D,  LL.  D.,  1870-1883;  Rev.  John  Preston,  D.  D., 
1883-1888;  Rev.  H.  R.  Laird,  1889-1891;  Rev.  G.  W,  Finley,  D.  D., 
1892. 

It  is  impossible  to  give  now  sketches  of  all  of  these,  but  a  few^ 
words  about  two  or  three  may  be  of  interest. 

The  first  pastor,  Dr.  Craig,  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  County  An- 
trim, Province  of  Ulster,  and  was  educated  at  Edinburgh,  Scotland, 
and  received  the  degree  of  A.  M.  in  1732.  He  came  to  America  in  1734 
and  was  licensed  to  preach  by  Donegal  Presbytery  in  1737,  and  settled 
as  pastor  in  Virginia  in  1740.  History  and  tradition  show  him  to  have 
been  a  man  of  marked  ability  and  an  active,  earnest  and  fearless 
preacher  of  the  Gospel,  with  not  a  little  of  the  strong-will  character- 
istic of  his  race.  His  sermons,  sound  in  doctrine,  were,  after  the 
style  of  his  day,  very  long  and  broken  up  into  many  heads,  divisions 
and  sub-divisions.  Two  of  these  were  usually  preached  on  each  Sab- 
bath and  occupied  the  larger  part  of  the  day.  He  married  a  daughter 
of  George  Russell  of  his  native  county,  in  Ireland.  Five,  it  appears,  of 
the  nine  children  of  their  union  survived  the  parents,  and  in  the  Craigs 
of  Kanawha  County,  West  Virginia,  and  the  Hamiltons  of  Augusta 
County  we  find  their  worthy  descendants.  Dr.  Craig  died  in  1774,  and 
was  buried  in  the  old  cemetery  at  Augusta  Church. 

Dr.  James  Waddell,  who  "fills  a  page  in  Virginia  literature  im- 
mortalizing William  Wirt,  the  author  of  '  The  Blind  Preacher,'  one  of 
the  men  of  his  own  generation  and  a  man  for  all  generations," 
was  also  born  in  the  province  of  Ulster,  Ireland.  Brought  by  his 
parents  in  infancy  to  America,  he  was  educated  at  the  famous  "  Log 
College  "  of  Dr.  Samuel  Finley,  at  Nottingham;  studied  theology  under 
the  distinguised  minister.  Rev.  Mr.  Todd,  of  Louisa  County;  was 
licensed,  by  Old  Hanover  Presbytery,  at  Tinkling  Spring,  1761,  and 
began  his  ministry  in  the  Churches  of  Lancaster  and  Northumberland, 
Virginia.  Failing  health  sent  him  to  the  Valley,  where  he  purchased 
and  lived  upon  the  Spring  Hill  farm  on  South  River,  and  served 
Tinkling  Spring  Church  until  he  removed  to  Louisa  County,  near  the 
borders  of  Orange  and  Albemarle  Counties,  where  he  lived  until  his 
death  in  1805.  As  a  preacher  his  eloquence  has  rarely  been  equalled, 
and  those  who  knew  him  best  attest  Jthat  Wirt's  famous  description 
of  it  in  "The  British  Spy,"  was  no  exaggeration.  His  amiable  dis- 
position, his  courtly,  yet  genial  manners  made  him  a  welcome  guest 
to  every  circle,  while  his  profound  piety  and  extensive  learning  im- 
pressed all  who  knew  him.  After  he  removed  to  Louisa  County  he 
was  afflicted  with  blindness,  but  still  preached  with  much  of  his 
wonted  vigor.  At  one  time  he  found  partial  relief  from  an  operation 
for  cataract,  but  the  blindness  returned  and  he  no  more  saw  the  light 

[261J 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


of  the  sun,  but  with  calm  and  patient  faith  and  hope  awaited  the 
Master's  summons  to  the  world  of  light  above.  While  serving  the 
Curches  in  Lancaster  and  Northumberland,  he  was  happily  married  to 
Mary,  a  daughter  of  Col.  James  Gordon,  one  of  his  elders,  and  through 
his  large  family  left  many  descendants  distinguished  both  in  Church 
and  State,  of  whom  we  are  glad  to  welcome  to-day  the  beloved  and 
honored  Senior  Elder  of  this  Church,  the  worthy  collector  and  pre- 
server of  the  records  of  the  deeds  of  his  and  our  worthy  ancestors. 
Long  may  his  bow  abide  in  strength. 

Revs.  John  McCue  and  James  C.  Williams  were  well  and  widely 
known  as  good  and  strong  men,  and  alike  ended  their  useful  careers 
by  sudden  death.  Mr.  McCue  was  thrown  from  his  horse  and  killed 
while  on  his  way  to  church  one  Sabbath  morning.  Mr.  Williams 
dropped  dead  while  getting  his  mail  from  the  postoflfice  in  Waynesboro. 

Of  Dr.  Smith,  the  learned  orientalist,  so  long  professor  in  Union 
Theological  Seminary,  and  of  that  grand  old  man— in  the  judgment  of 
many,  the  foremost  man  of  his  day  in  this  country,  who  despite  his 
blindness  continued  to  wield  his  imperial  powers  in  support  of  truth 
and  right,  up  to  the  time  of  his  lamented  death— the  profound  theolo- 
gian and  author,  R.  L.  Dabney,  we  cannot  speak  at  length.  Nor  can  we 
do  more  than  mention  See,  with  his  accurate,  critical  knowledge  of  the 
Scriptures  and  his  almost  encyclopedic  acquaintance  with  men  and 
things,  coupled  with  deep  and  unaffected  piety;  and  Strickler,  the 
strong  and  eloquent  worthy  successor  of  Dr.  Dabney  not  only  in  the 
pulpit,  but  in  the  chair  of  theology  which  he  now  adorns  in  Union 
Seminary;  the  lamented  Preston,  whose  recent  death  still  shadows  the 
hearts  of  those,  and  they  are  many,  who  knew  and  loved  him  for  his 
own  and  his  work's  sake;  and  Laird,  the  sturdy  son  of  Rockbridge, 
who  still  gives  the  fruit  of  his  ripe  experience  to  earnest  and  active 
work  in  Texas. 

If  we  were  to  attempt  a  sketch  of  the  prominent  and  useful  men 
who  have  been  connected  with  Tinkling  Spring  we  would  be  almost 
obliged  to  give  a  history  of  most  of  the  families  in  the  county- 
Lewises,  Prestons,  Pattons,  Christians,  Moffatts,  McCues,  McClana- 
hans.  Blacks,  Hunters,  Halls,  Stuarts  Gilkesons,  Patricks,  Bells, 
Alexanders,  Campbells,  Breckenridges,  Pattersons,  Pilsons,  Poages, 
Tates,  Trimbles,  Lyles,  Doaks,  McDowells  and  a  host  of  others  equally 
worthy  with  a  brilliant  record  of  achievements  in  peace  and  war,  in 
the  learned  professions,  in  the  quiet  pursuits  of  commerce  and  farming, 
which  have  given  tone  and  character  to  so  much  that  is  good  and 
noble  in  our  County,  State  and  Country. 

Long  may  their  virtues  be  remembered  and  imitated  by  those  who 
inherit  the  legacy  of  their  names  and  blood! 

[262] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


SKETCH  OF  HEBRON  CHURCH,    BY  REV.    HOLMES  ROLSTON 

In  1746  the  Rev.  John  Blair  visited  this  country  and  organized 
four  Presbyterian  congi-egations — Forks  of  James,  Timber  Ridge, 
New  Providence  and  North  Mountain. 

North  Mountain  was  afterwards  abandoned,  its  members  going  to 
Bethel  and  to  Brown's  Meeting  House. 

Brown's  Meeting  House  was  the  name  of  the  first  building  where 
Hebron  now  stands. 

It  was  a  log  building,  but  the  date  of  its  erection  is  not  known. 

In  October,  1766,  three  calls  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  Rev.  Chas. 
Cummings.  One  from  Albemarle,  one  from  Forks  of  James  and  one 
from  Major  Brown's  Meeting  House,  Hebron.  The  latter  he  accepted. 
We  do  not  know  when  nor  by  whom  this  Church  was  organized. 

Mr.  Cummings  was  probably  its  first  pastor.  He  was  born  in 
Ireland,  but  came  to  this  country  early  in  life  and  lived  in  the  congre- 
gation of  the  Rev.  Jas.  Waddell,  and  it  is  probable,  studied  theology 
under  him.  He  was  a  man  who  possessed  great  personal  firmness 
and  dignity  of  character.  His  voice  was  strong,  his  articulation  clear 
and  distinct.  It  is  said  he  could  speak  to  be  heard  by  ten  thousand 
people.     He  served  the  people  of  Brown's  Meeting  House  till  1772. 

There  was  then  a  vacancy  till  1778,  when  the  Rev.  Archibald  Scott 
was  called  to  serve  this  Church  together  with  North  Mountain. 

It  was  during  the  second  year  of  his  ministry  that  Bethel  was 
built.  From  this  time  it  is  supposed  that  North  Mountain  was 
abandoned. 

He  came  as  a  lonely  emigrant  from  Scotland,  first  to  Pennsyl- 
vania, then  to  the  Virginia  frontier.  He  studied  theology  under  Rev. 
Wm.  Graham  at  Liberty  Hall,  and  on  October  31,  1777,  he  with 
Samuel  Doak  and  Edward  Crawford  was  licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel. 
He  supplied  vacant  Churches  in  the  valley  till  the  following  October, 
when  he  was  called  to  Brown's  Meeting  House  and  North  Mountain, 
which  work  he  accepted. 

Here  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life,  greatly  beloved  by  the 
people  to  whom  he  ministered. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1799,  after  a  short  illness,  he  closed  his  useful 
life.  His  remains  lie  under  the  oaks  in  the  cemetery  at  Hebron,  and' 
the  slab  that  marks  his  grave,  with  its  camps  and  cannon,  cross  and 
Bible,  carved  upon  it,  indicate  the  various  ways  in  which  he  faithfully 
served  his  people  and  his  country. 

The  date  on  this  slab  is  incorrect.  It  is  given  March  4,  1800, 
while  in  the  old  family  Bible,  now  in  the  hands  of  Mrs.  Mary  J. 
McPheeters,  it  is  recorded  March,  4,  1799. 

[263] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


The  next  pastor  was  the  Rev.  William  Calhoon.  On  May  3,  1805, 
he   accepted   a   call   from    Staunton   and   Brown's   Meeting   House. 

These  Churches  he  served  for  a  number  of  years.  "  The  in- 
creasing services  required  by  the  enlarging  congregations,  induced 
him,  as  the  infirmities  of  age  came  on  him,  to  withdraw,  first  from 
Staunton,  which  he  thought  and  rightly,  required  the  undivided  atten- 
tion of  a  minister  and  then  from  Brown's  Meeting  House,  which  had 
taken  the  name  of  Hebron,  and  which  required  the  labors  of  a  strong 
man." 

He  was  the  son  of  a  godly  elder  of  Briery  Church,  Prince  Edward 
County  and  lived  six  miles  from  Hampden-Sidney  College  where  he 
was  educated,  walking  home  every  Saturday. 

He  was  carefully  trained  from  early  childhood  in  morality  and  re- 
ligion, sedate,  unaffected,  sincere,  in  cheerfulness  and  in  close  atten- 
tion to  his  studies,  surpassed  by  none. 

He  and  his  friend,  Corey  Allen,  with  whom  he  was  associated  for 
a  time  in  mission  work  in  Kentucky,  were  converted  along  with  others 
at  the  same  time  during  a  revival  in  College. 

Allen  was  droll,  rollicking,  full  of  fun  and  merriment.  When  a 
student  his  very  appearance  was  the  sign  for  uproarious  laughter. 

He  greatly  admired  gravity  in  others,  and  felt  his  want  of  it. 
Charmed  with  the  ministerial  dignity  of  his  young  friend,  Calhoon,  he 
determined  to  imitate  him. 

"With  all  the  gravity  he  could  assume,  he  went  to  his  next  ap- 
pointment, rode  to  the  house  slowly,  dismounted  in  a  slow,  quiet 
manner,  spoke  gravely  to  the  people,  moved  about  in  a  solemn  man- 
ner without  a  smile  or  exciting  a  smile  in  others. 

"People  were  astonished. 

"  'Are  you  unwell,  Mr.  Allen?' 

"  'Has  anything  happened,  Mr.  Allen?' 

"  'Have  you  heard  any  bad  news,  Mr.  Allen?' 

"  'Any  affliction  among  your  friends,  Mr.  Allen?' 

"At  last  bursting  into  a  laugh,  to  the  surprise  and  merriment  of 
all,  he  exclaimed,  '  I  can  play  Calhoon  no  longer. '  When  the  excite- 
ment was  over  he  made  them  weep  under  his  sermon." 

Mr.  Calhoon  had  a  splendid  memory.  He  trusted  it  and  it  was 
faithful  to  him.  He  was  ready  and  prompt,  all  his  stores  were  at  his 
command  at  a  moment's  warning.  Brave,  frank,  cheerful,  courteous, 
social,  ever  ready  to  contend  valliantly  for  the  truth,  but  equally 
ready  to  give  up  non-essentials.  He  never  counted  the  cost  of  fearing 
God  and  keeping  a  good  conscience. 

The  earliest  record  that  we  can  find  of  Brown's  Meeting  House 
begins  May  10,  1816,  with  the  vindication  of  Mr.  Calhoon  by  the  Session 

[264] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


and  others.  One  of  his  members,  whom  he  had  reproved  for  drunk- 
enness, evidently  in  anger,  had  been  circulating  damaging  reports 
about  his  pastor;  among  others  that  he  had  stolen  his  neighbor's  hogs, 
saying  that  Mr.  Calhoon  had  made  up  his  quantity  of  pork  from  his 
neighbors's  hogs. 

These  reports  were  taken  up  and  investigated  by  the  Session  and 
others,  and  their  signed  statement  is  that  they  are  entirely  without 
foundation,  and  that  no  one  but  this  one  family  had  had  anything  to 
do  with  their  circulation. 

On  the  next  page  is  a  request  from  the  Session  to  Presbytery  to 
send  a  committee  to  try  this  offending  brother. 

It  was  during  the  latter  part  of  his  ministry  that  the  brick 
Church  recently  burned,  was  erected. 

The  Church  was  exceedingly  prosperous  under  his  ministry. 
We  do  not  know  the  membership  in  1805,  when  he  came,  but  in 
1816  there  were  100  members,  ninety-four  white  and  six  colored. 

In  September,  1833,  there  were  212  members.  Then  a  great  re- 
vival began  in  which  Mr.  Calhoon  was  assisted  by  the  Rev.  Isaac 
Jones,  and  on  November  24th,  eighty-eight  persons  were  added  to 
the  Church,  seventy- two  white,  sixteen  colored,  making  the  member- 
ship 300.  The  following  account  of  this  revival  is  found  among  the 
records  of  Brown's  Meeting  House: 

"Mr.  Jones's  method  of  conducting  these  meetings  was  new  to 
the  people  of  this  country. 

"When  he  came  he  preached  at  the  Church  in  the  morning,  and  at 
the  close  of  the  services  gave  notice  that  there  would  be  a  prayer 
meeting  at  an  old,  unoccupied  house,  near  the  residence  of  a  venerable 
old  lady,  noted  for  her  eminent  piety  and  sterling  worth,  and  where  a 
Sabbath  afternoon  prayer  meeting  had  long  been  held  and  was  con- 
tinued for  many  years  thereafter.  This  meeting  Mr.  Jones  conducted. 
His  sole  object  seemed  to  be  to  train  and  instruct  those  who  were  in 
the  habit  of  leading  in  prayer  to  perform  this  duty  to  arouse,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  emotions.  After  singing  a  hymn  some  elder  was  called 
upon  to  lead  in  prayer.  Then  an  exhortation  on  the  proper  manner  of 
praying— it  should  be  brief,  pointed,  annimated  and  rousing.  This 
lecture  was  accompanied  with  anecdotes  illustrating  how  revivals  had 
been  killed  by  a  single  long,  deliberate,  dull  prayer  by  an  old  ruling 
elder. 

"Nothing  was  said  about  the  spirit  or  frame  of  mind  or  state  of 
the  heart  when  approaching  the  throne  of  grace,  nor  the  character  of 
the  petitions  offered.  Then  another  hymn  and  prayer,  then  another 
edition  of  some  lecture  with  additions  and  emendations. 

"He  was  not  a  man  of  profound  or  extensive  scholarship,  but  being 

[265] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

endowed  with  an  acute  and  vigorous  intellect,  he  clearly  and  correctly 
comprehended  the  vital  truths  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  embrac- 
ing them  cordially  and  unreservedly,  he  enforced  them  upon  the 
hearts  and  consciences  of  his  hearers  in  a  manner  at  once  forcible  and 
pungent.  His  manner  was  earnest  and  animated;  his  gestures 
becoming  sometimes  what  might  be  called  violent,  but  it  was  evident 
that  they  were  but  the  natural  manifestations  of  an  ardent  soul,  fully 
and  entirely  realizing  the  truths  of  the  transcendent  importance  of 
the  doctrines  he  was  expounding  and  enforcing.  His  sermons  were 
never  elaborate  discourses,  but  always  brief,  exhibiting  a  vigorous 
and  subtle  intellect. 

"He  had  some  twelve  or  fourteen  which  he  delivered,  I  presume, 
in  the  same  order.  After  each  sermon  there  was  an  exhortation  to 
the  impenitent,  a  hymn' sung  from  the  (U.  H.?)  the  'anxious  seat' 
proposed  and  all  urged  to  come  to  it  to  be  prayed  for. 

'  'After  the  prayer  and  an  address,  often  another  hymn,  followed  by 
a  second  urgent  invitation  to  the  unconverted  to  come  forward." 

In  October,  1834,  Mr.  Calhoon  resigned  his  pastorate  here  and,  in 
November,  Mr.  Jones  began  his  labors  as  stated  supply.  He  served 
until  1839. 

On  November  1,  1840,  the  services  of  Rev.  S.  J.  Love  were  secured 
by  a  committee  appointed  to  secure  a  pastor  or  a  supply,  and,  on 
August  13,  1842,  he  was  installed  as  pastor. 

On  August  14,  1841, 'the  Church  of  Shiloh  made  request  through 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Calhoon  to  unite  with  Hebron.  In  March  of  the  follow- 
ing year,  the  formal  request  was  made  by  Hebron  to  Presbytery  to 
unite  them  with  Shiloh,  the  united  Church  to  retain  the  name  of 
Hebron. 

In  September,  1858,  Mr.  Love  resigned  to  accept  work  in  Missis- 
sippi. Shortly  after  this  Rev.  Jno.  T.  Baker  was  called.  He  declined 
to  signify  his  acceptance  of  the  call  for  a  time,  but  came  as  stated^ 
supply.  He  was  installed  as  pastor  the  following  year,  but  was  dis- 
missed by  Presbytery  in  January,  1861,  to  accept  a  call  to  Wheeling. 

In  May,  1862,  the  Rev.  Thomas  L.  Preston,  D.  D.,  was  installed 
as  pastor.     He  continued  pastor  till  in  July,  1868. 

Rev.  Daniel  B.  Ewing,  D.  D.,  was  installed  as  pastor  November 
27,  1869,  remaining  about  8  years. 

The  Rev.  F.  H.  Gaines,  D.  D.,  came  in  May,  1878,  and  remained 
until  the  fall  of  1883. 

Rev.  L.  B.  Johnson  came  November  25,  1884,  and  remained  till 
May  28,  1887. 

Rev.  J.  E.  Booker  came  October  1,  1888,  and  remained  till  Febru- 
ary 1,  1900. 

Rev.  Holmes  Rolston  came  July  3,  1900. 

[266] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


SECOND  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,    BY  REV.  W.    N.    SCOTT,    D.  D. 

The  life  of  this  Church  covers  so  short  a  period— only  28  years  and 
seven  months — that  but  little  historic  interest  can  be  presented.  It 
was  organized  by  a  commission  of  Lexington  Presbytery,  November 
14,  1875.  The  following  persons,  all  from  the  First  Church  of  this 
City,  it  is  believed,  were  in  the  organization,  viz:  Thos.  S.  Doyle, 
Mrs.  Margaret  D.  Effinger,  J.  Fred  Effinger,  Holmes  Erwin,  Wm.  C. 
Geiger,  Wm.  A.  Hudson,  Maj.  Jed  Hotchkiss,  Mrs.  Sarah  Hotchkiss, 
Miss  Nellie  Hotchhiss  (now  Mrs.  McCullough)  Chas.  D.  McCoy,  Chas. 
A.  Turner,  H.  A.  Walker  and  Mrs.  Lucy  D.  Woods. 

Capt.  Chas.  D.  McCoy  was  elected  a  ruling  elder,  and  Henry  A. 
Walker  and  Wm.  A.  Hudson  deacons  in  the  new  Church. 

The  first  minute  in  the  Session  Book  is  dated  January  25,  1876. 
From  this  it  appears  that  there  were  present  Rev.  MacDuff  Simpson, 
pastor,  and  ruling  elder,  Chas.  D.  McCoy.  Mrs.  McCoy,  wife  of 
Chas.  D.,  was  received  on  profession  of  faith,  and  eleven  others  by 
letter,  of  whom  six  were  from  the  First  Church.  Deacon  H.  A. 
Walker  was  appointed  as  treasurer  of  the  Church. 

First:  Places  of  worship  used  by  the  Church.  For  nearly  a  year 
the  old  town  hall,  on  Main  street,  was  used  for  Church  and  Sunday 
School  purposes.  Near  the  close  of  1876  the  Church  or  chapel,  corner 
Frederick  and  Lewis  Streets,  was  completed  and  occupied.  It  had 
cost  about  $4,000  and  furnished  a  comfortable  home  for  the  young 
organization  until  September,  1901,  when  it  was  torn  down  to  make 
way  for  the  present  larger  building.  The  present  Church  was  com- 
pleted and  dedicated  in  October,  1902.  It  cost,  including  its  furnish- 
ings, about  $15,000.  The  desirable  manse  property  next  to  the  Church 
was  purchased  in  1886  for  about  $5,000. 

Second:  The  pastors  of  the  Second  Church.  There  have  been 
five  pastors  previous  to  the  present  one,  all  of  whom  are  now  living. 
The  first  pastor  was  the  Rev.  MacDuff  Simpson,  who  was  installed  in 
December,  1875,  and  remained  with  the  Church  something  less  than 
two  years.  Mr.  Simpson  is  now  a  minister  in  the  Church  of  Scotland 
and  settled  near  Berwick,  on  Tweed.  After  Mr.  Simpson's  departure, 
the  Rev,  Wm.  T.  Richardson,  D.  D.,  long  the  honored  editor  of  The 
Central  Presbyterian,  served  the  Church  as  a  supply  for  part  of  a  year. 

The  second  pastor  was  Rev.  J.  E.  Booker,  from  September,  1878 
to  April,  1885,  a  period  of  over  six  years.  Mr.  Booker  is  still  with  us 
and  the  successful  superintendent  of  the  Synod's  Evangelistic  Work. 
The  third  pastor  was  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Hawes,  D.  D.,  from  August, 
1885  to  December,  1891,  six  years  and  four  months.  Dr.  Hawes  is 
now  a  resident  of  Charlottesville,  Va. 

[267] 


Rev.  William  Nelson  Scott,  D.  D. 


Begran  his  pastorate  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Staunton,  Va.,  in  June,  1901. 
He  is  descended  from  a  long  line  of  Presbyterian  preachers.  His  great-grandfather,  the 
Rev.  Archibald  Scott,  was  pastor  of  Hebron  and  Bethel  Churches  in  this  County  during 
the  Revolutionary  period— from  1776  to  1799,  and  is  buried  in  Hebron  churchyard. 

Dr.  Scott  held  pastorals  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  Galveston,  Texas,  before  coming 
to  Staunton.  He  was  born  in  Halifax  County,  Virginia,  and  was  educated  at  Washington 
and  Lee  University  and  at  Union  Theological  Seminary,  Virginia. 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


The  fourth  pastor  was  Rev.  Wm.  Gumming,  from  March,  1892  to 
June,  1896,  a  period  of  four  years  and  three  months.  Mr.  Gumming  is 
now  pastor  at  Winchester,  Ky. 

The  fifth  pastor  was  Rev.  J.  M.  Wells,  now  of  Wilmington,  N.  G. 
Mr.  Wells  was  pastor  from  November,  1896  to  February,  1901,  four 
years  and  three  months. 

The  present  pastor  began  June,  1901. 

Third:  The  elders  who  have  served  the  Ghurch  in  the  order  of 
their  election  are:  Capt.  Ghas.  D.  McGoy,  (November  14,  1875)  Gapt. 
Wm.  Jordan,  Jas.  W.  Morrison,  Maj.  Jed  Hotchkiss,  Gapt.  T.  G. 
Morton,  Jas.  M.  Lickliter,  Gapt.  Hugh  W.  Henry,  B.  F.  Hughes, 
M.  F.  Gilkeson,  B.  F.  Humphreys,  Dr.  G.  T.  Lewis,  W.  N.  Glemmer, 
S.  Brown  Allen,  H.  M.  Lewis,  N.  G.  Kester,  W.  Arthur  Willson. 

Fourth:  The  deacons  in  the  order  of  their  election  are:  H.  A. 
Walker  and  Wm.  A.  Hudson  (November  14,  1875)  Jno.  S.  Lipscomb, 
T.  G.  Morton,  B.  F.  Hughes,  Geo.  B.  Greaver,  Jas.  T.  Lightner, 
Ghas.  McGue,  A.  M.  Howison,  Jno.  H.  Willson,  Jno.  G.  Whitlock, 
W.  N.  Glemmer,  J.  Fred  Effinger,  M.  F.  Gilkeson,  B.  F.  Humphreys, 
W.  A.  Willson,  H.  M.  Lewis,  Jacob  A.  Hanger,  Frank  T.  Holt,  T. 
Walter  Davis,  W.  A.  Higgs.  Alex.  H.  Fultz,  J.  W.  Lovegrove,  H.  N. 
McGutchen,  N.  G.  Kester,  J.  G.  Recher,  A.  S.  Morton,  W.  J.  Swink, 
Richard  H.  Bell,  Jr.,  Stuart  P.  Silling,  Thos.  A.  Bell,  Newton  Argen- 
bright,  Wm.  A.  Grawford,  and  W.  Frank  Dull. 

Fifth:  The  growth  of  the  Ghurch.  Beginning  with  only  thirteen 
members  and  struggling  with  many  discouragements,  its  growth  was 
necessarily  slow.  At  the  end  of  ten  years  its  membership  was  re- 
ported as  one  hundred  and  eleven  and  a  Sunday  School  of  eighty. 

The  next  ten  years  its  growth  was  much  more  rapid,  and  at  the 
close  of  this  decade  it  reported  a  little  over  four  hundred  members  and 
a  Sunday  School  of  about  250.  The  present  membership,  after  a  care- 
ful revision  of  the  roll,  is  528  and  the  Sunday  School  about  280.  The 
Church  has  received  into  its  membership  during  the  twenty-eight 
years  one  thousand  and  eighty-nine  persons  (1089)  of  whom  600  were 
by  letter  and  489  on  profession  of  faith.  Thus  has  its  growth,  by  the 
blessings  of  God,  justified  the  wisdom  of  the  Presbytery  in  organizing 
it,  and  added  to  the  strength  of  the  denomination  in  this  Gity. 

Passing  through  many  trials  and  struggles  it  would  naturally  be 
that  this  Ghurch  would  develop  a  high  type  of  grace  and  devotion  in 
many  of  the  members,  and  there  have  been  many,  both  men  and 
women,  living  and  dead,  whose  names  occur  readily  to  all  who  are 
familiar  with  the  past  of  the  Ghurch.  It  would  be  simple  justice  and  a 
pleasure  to  name  them,  but  we  forbear  lest  it  might  seem  invidious. 
It  may  be  permitted  however  to  refer  to  and  emphasize  the  devoted 

[269] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


and  successful  labors  of  our  zealous  women  who  here,  as  always,  are 
conspicuous  in  faithful  work.  The  Ladies'  Aid  Society  has  done  a 
fine  work  in  all  the  past,  but  during  the  past  three  years,  in  connection 
with  the  building  of  the  new  Church,  has  quite  surpassed  itself,  having 
contributed  nearly  $2,500  towards  fitting  and  furnishing  of  the  Church. 
The  "Church  Workers,"  the  Junior  Organization,  during  the  same 
time  undertook  and  has  about  paid  for  the  new  organ  in  the  Church. 
The  Maria  Pratt  Missionary  Society,  the  Westminster  League  of  C. 
E.,  and  the  Junior  League,  are  all  doing  excellent  work  and  the  last 
named  society,  the  "Juniors,"  is  supporting  a  girl  in  the  Synod's 
Orphanage,  at  Lynchburg,  Virginia.  With  gratitude  to  God  for  His 
great  favor  and  blessing,  and  with  the  most  cordial  affection  for  the 
old  mother  Church  as  she  now  completes  a  century  of  useful  labors  in 
the  Master's  service,  we  lay  this  small  contribution  on  the  altar,  and 
pray  for  grace  to  attempt  to  achieve  yet  larger  things  for  Him  to 
whom  all  praise  is  due. 

SKETCH   OF   OLIVET   CHURCH,    BY   REV.    E.    B.    DRUEN. 

In  the  spring  of  1872,  some  children  from  the  East  End  of  Staun- 
ton, near  the  National  Cemetery,  strayed  into  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church.  Their  coming  led  eventually  to  the  starting,  by  some  of  the 
ladies  of  that  Church,  of  a  mission  Sunday  School  in  the  house  of 
Mrs.  Burford,  some  two  miles  below  the  city.  Mr.  T.  B.  Coleman, 
an  elder  of  the  First  Church,  held  meetings  for  prayer  and  instruction 
in  the  Word  of  God.  Mrs.  D.  A.  Kayser  was  prime  mover  in  this 
work,  and  with  the  aid  of  teachers  from  the  Church,  a  regular  Sunday 
School  was  soon  organized. 

These  faithful  workers  labored,  under  trials  and  discouragements, 
until  March,  1875,  at  which  time  arrangements  were  made  between 
Mrs.  Kayser  and  others  interested,  and  the  trustees  of  Bolivar  School 
District,  for  the  building  of  a  school  house,  it  being  agreed  between 
them  that  the  friends  of  the  mission  should  contribute  $150.00  towards 
the  cost  of  the  building,  and  that,  in  consideration  of  this  contribution, 
they  should  be  allowed  to  use  the  building  on  Sundays  for  Sabbath 
School  and  religious  services. 

Sunday  School  was  first  held  in  this  building  in  April,  1875.  It 
was  called  Bolivar  Sunday  School,  and  continued  to  be  known  by  that 
name  until  June,  1881.  Religious  services  were  held  regularly  by 
Rev.  Wm.  E.  Baker  and  Rev.  J.  E.  Booker.  From  the  first,  the 
attendance  was  both  large  and  regular.  The  records  show  that  from 
August  18  to  December  18,  1878,  the  average  attendance  was  eight 
teachers  and  fifty-eight  scholars. 

[270] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


In  1880  the  sum  of  $350.00  was  contributed  by  members  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  by  persons  in  the  neighborhood  and  others, 
and  this  sum,  together  with  $100.00  returned  by  the  trustees  of  BoHvar 
School  District,  was  used  in  building  the  present  Church.  The  land 
for  the  site  was  donated  by  Messrs.  John  and  David  Doom.  The 
organ  and  the  bell  were  given  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  D.  A.  Kayser.  Ser- 
vices were  held  in  the  Church  for  the  first  time  on  June  5,  1881,  and 
the  name  "Olivet  Chapel,"  selected  by  Mrs.  Kayser,  was  given  to  it. 

Rev.  J.  E.  Booker  ministered  to  this  congregation,  during  the 
winter,  until  1896,  the  work  being  done  during  the  summer  months  by 
theological  students.  Through  the  blessing  of  God,  upon  the  faithful 
Sunday  School  teaching,  and  the  preaching  of  the  Word,  some 
seventy-five  persons  were  led  to  profess  their  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  as 
their  Savior,  most  of  them  uniting  with  the  First  Church,  in  Staunton. 

In  1897,  "  Olivet  Chapel"  was  organized  as  a  Church,  under  the 
name  of  "Olivet  Church,"  with  three  ruling  elders  and  six  deacons. 
The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  R.  C.  Gilmore,  who  preached  his  first  ser- 
mon on  February,  6,  1898.  He  continued  in  the  pastorate  until 
August,  1902.  During  his  ministry  the  Church  grew  and  prospered 
encouragingly. 

From  August,  1902,  when  Rev.  R.  C.  Gilmore  resigned  as  pastor, 
until  May,  1904,  the  Church  had  no  pastor,  though  repeated  and 
earnest  eff'orts  were  made  to  secure  one.  But  during  this  period  of 
nearly  two  years  the  Church  had  a  supply  for  most  of  the  time,  first 
in  the  Rev.  W.  L.  Bailey  and  then  in  the  Rev.  W.  A.  Black,  of  the 
United  Brethren  Church,  who  ministered  very  acceptably  to  this 
Church. 

In  May,  1904,  the  Rev.  E.  B.  Druen,  was  installed  as  the  second 
pastor  of  this  Church.  The  membership  numbers  sixty-five  and  the 
proportion  of  earnest,  faithful  church  workers  is  unusually  large.  The 
Sunday  School  now  numbers  150,  with  four  officers  and  twelve  teachers, 
with  an  average  attendance  of  100. 

Only  last  night  we  closed  a  very  pleasant  and  successful  meeting 
in  this  Church  conducted  by  Rev.  J.  Spencer  Smith.  God  owned  and 
blessed  the  preaching  of  His  word  and  as  a  result  seventeen  have  ex- 
pressed their  intention  to  unite  with  this  church  on  next  Sabbath. 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church  feels  the  deepest  interest  in  the 
work  of  this,  its  daughter  Church,  and  contributes  liberally  to  its 
support. 


[271J 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

During  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Staunton,  a  meeting  was  held  in  the 
Chapel  of  Mary  Baldwin  Seminary,  Thursday  Evening, 
October  27, 1904,  and  the  following  program  was  rendered: 

AN   EVENING  IN   THE  OLD  CHURCH 

1  Ballade  A   Flat      Chopin 

Miss  Topping 

2  Abide  With  Me Liddle 

Miss  Parsons 

3  Centennial  Hymn Whittier 

L'Envoi Kipling 

Miss  Frost 

4  Heard  Ye  His  Voice Rubinstein 

Miss  Elsie  Hamilton 

5  Rhapsodie  G  Minor Brahms 

Nocturn  B  Major Chopin 

Meditation Tschaikowsky 

Miss  Topping 

6  Rest  in  the  Lord Mendelssohn  (Elijah) 

Miss  Parsons 

7  God  of  the  Open  Air Van  Dyke 

Miss  Frost 

8  Hungarian  Fantasie Liszt 

Misses  Topping  and  Rosa  Munger 

After  the  program  was  concluded  Hon.  Joseph  A.  Wad- 
dell  was  called  upon  to  make  an  address.  The  following  is 
about  what  he  said  or  what  he  should  have  said: 

I  think  I  am  a  very  accommodating  man  to  rise  before  this 
audience  to  speak  without  any  preparation.  Dr.  Fraser  wants  me  to 
say  something.  I  wish  I  knew  what  he  wants  me  to  say,  I  would  gladly 
say  it.  Of  course  he  wants  something  about  old  times.  It  seems  to 
me  that  I  am  considered  the  Methuselah  of  this  community,  and  when- 
ever any  information  is  desired  about  old  times,  I  am  called  upon,  but 
there  is  a  lady  in  this  assembly,  who  has  a  good  memory  and  could 
tell  much  more  than  I  can,  if  she  would  only  mount  the  platform  and 
speak  out.  Having  no  speech  prepared,  I  must  think  of  something  to 
say  as  I  go  along  and  perhaps  I  shall  ramble  a  good  deal. 

The  first  thing  that  struck  my  attention  when  I  came  into  this 
hall  to-night,  was  that  the  hall  was  much  narrower  than  the  old 
Church.     Yet  I  know  that  the  hall  was  built  on  the  foundation  of   the 

[272] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,    STAUNTON,  VA. 


Church,  and  must  be  the  exact  width  of  the  Church.  So  we  find  gen- 
erally as  we  grow  older,  distances  appear  shorter,  hills  lower  and 
houses  smaller. 

My  memory  goes  back  to  the  last  year  or  two  of  the  pastorate  of 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Smith.  I  will  not  say  how  long  ago  that  is— it  would 
make  me  appear  very  old.  Strange  to  say  I  do  not  remember  Mr. 
Smith  as  he  appeared  in  the  pulpit,  from  which  I  infer  that  he  was 
not  a  tedious  preacher,  and  had  nothing  odd  or  eccentric  in  his  ap- 
pearance or  manners.  Another  preacher  of  that  time  I  remember 
most  distinctly.  He  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thatcher,  principal  of  a  school 
for  girls,  or  "young  ladies"  perhaps  I  should  say,  and  he  frequently 
took  Mr.  Smith's  place  in  the  pulpit  at  night  service.  He  was  a  tall, 
gaunt  man,  and  his  sermons  were  very  long  and  tedious.  One  Sunday 
night,  I  was  in  the  family  pew  as  usual,  and  while  Mr.  Thatcher  was 
preaching,  I  went  to  sleep.  When  I  woke  up  he  was  preaching  still. 
I  went  to  sleep  again — even  the  snuffing  of  the  candles  by  the  sexton 
every  twenty  or  thirty  minutes,  which  I  always  enjoyed,  could  not 
keep  me  awake— and  when  I  awoke  Mr.  Thatcher  was  still  preaching. 
So  it  went  on  until  my  patience  was  exhausted.  Then  I  stretched  my 
arms  and  cried  aloud  to  my  mother:  "Let's  go  home,  Mr.  Thatcher 
is  going  to  preach  all  night ! ' ' 

Speaking  of  sextons,  the  official  at  that  time  was  a  free  black  man 
called  Bob  Campbell.  He  was  the  town  barber  as  well  as  sexton,  and 
also  dealt  in  horses,  making  frequent  trips  to  Richmond  to  sell  his 
stock.  He  was  very  pompous,  and  I  stood  in  much  awe  of  him.  His 
knowledge  of  figures  was  somewhat  defective,  however.  On  one 
occasion,  after  his  returning  from  a  trip,  being  asked  how  many  horses 
he  took  to  market,  replied:  "Between  eleven  and  ten."  The  sexton  was 
often  too  important  a  person  about  the  church  in  old  times  to  be 
omitted. 

I  was  made  to  go  to  church  night  and  day,  awake  or  asleep.  Be- 
ing too  young  to  attend  to  the  preaching,  my  eyes,  when  awake, 
roamed  around  the  house  in  search  of  entertainment,  and  I  remember 
every  person  who  attended  church  at  that  time,  and  would  recognize 
them  if  they  rose  from  the  dead  and  appeared  before  me.  I  partic- 
ularly remember  Katy  and  Harriet  Woolwine,  mother  and  daughter, 
who  sat  in  the  eastern  "amen  corner"  in  full  view  of  me.  A  good  old 
lady  sat  in  a  pew  immediately  before  me.  She  sang  very  loud,  and 
she  sang  through  her  nose.  There  were  no  Italian  trills  or  high  art 
or  melody  in  her  singing,  but  she  sang  with  the  spirit  and  understand- 
ing. Dear  old  lady!  I  wish  I  could  hear  her  now.  She  seemed  to 
enjoy  it  so.     Her  heart  was  in  it. 

[273] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


You  must  allow  me  to  wander  around  as  I  remember  things,  or  I 
shall  have  to  quit  speaking.  That  word  "wander"  reminds  me  of  two 
old  negro  men  with  whom  I  was  personally  acquainted  in  my  early 
boyhood.  They  did  not  patronize  the  Church  much,  being  preachers 
themselves.  One  of  them  was  named  Louey  and  the  other  Abram. 
There  was  some  rivalry  between  them,  and  Uncle  Louey  was  accus- 
tomed to  say,  "Brother  Abram  is  a  very  good  preacher,  but  he  can't 
take  a  text  and  wander  from  it  as  I  can." 

As  I  am  wandering  like  "Uncle  Louey, "  I  will  state  another  anec- 
dote, suggested  by  the  fact  that  I  was  compelled  by  my  parents  to  go 
to  Church  as  soon  as  I  could  walk  there.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that 
way.  Christian  parents  make  a  mistake  just  there.  They  seem  to 
think  that  if  they  take  their  children  to  Church  against  their  will  it 
will  give  them  a  distaste  to  the  Church  and  religion.  That  was  not 
my  experience.  A  father  makes  his  boy  go  to  school  whether  he 
wishes  to  go  or  not,  and  if  he  allows  the  boy  to  stay  away  from  Church, 
he  is  apt  to  think  that  the  Church  and  religion,  itself,  are  of  little  or 
no  importance.  Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge,  the  celebrated  English  poet 
and  philosopher,  related  an  anecdote  about  himself  which  illustrates 
the  benefit  of  wholesome  discipline  in  connection  with  religion.  When 
he  was  a  school  boy,  there  was  a  Bible  lesson  all  the  pupils  were  re- 
quired to  attend.  On  one  occasion  he  stayed  away,  and  when  he  was 
called  up  about  the  matter,  he  boldly  planted  himself  on  his  right  to 
"religious  liberty."  He  said  he  did  not  believe  the  Bible— he  was  an 
infidel.  If  the  teacher  had  undertaken  to  correct  him,  it  would  only 
have  confirmed  him  in  his  self-conceit;  but  he  was  too  wise  a  man  to 
do  that.  He  gave  him  the  worst  whipping  he  ever  had  in  his  life,  and 
from  that  time  he  never  had  a  doubt  about  the  truth  of  the  Bible. 

Years  passed  away.  Another  Smith  was  at  the  forge — in  other 
words,  the  Rev.  B.  M.  Smith  was  pastor  of  this  Church.  And  now 
I  have  come  to  the  only  suggestion  Dr.  Fraser  made  to  me.  He  said 
he  wanted  me  to  tell  about  Miss  Baldwin  as  a  Sunday  School  teacher. 
But  first  I  must  allude  to  the  sexton  of  this  period.  His  name  was 
Martin  Weigand,  a  native  of  Bavaria,  Germany.  He  had  gone  to 
Greece  with  King  Oscar,  when  the  latter  became  King  of  that  country, 
and  finally  found  his  way  to  Staunton,  when  he  could  speak  scarcely  a 
word  of  English.  He  obtained  employment,  and  soon  proved  himself 
a  thrifty  and  well-behaved  man.  He  became  sexton  of  the  Church, 
having  previously  married  Harriet  Woolwine,  whom  I  have  mentioned. 

For  a  time  he  prospered,  but  his  wife  died,  and  he  afterwards  be- 
came distrusted.  He  abandoned  the  property  he  had  acquired  and  wan- 
dered off — as  I  am  doing — and  nobody,  hereabouts,  knows  what  became 
of  him. 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


But  to  return — I  had  become  a  young  man,  and  Miss  Baldwin 
a  young  woman.  I  had  known  her  all  her  life  after  a  way— seeing  her 
at  preaching  and  Sunday  School,  and  meeting  her  now  and  then  in  the 
streets.  Until  I  got  married,  she  seemed  to  have  no  use  for  me 
whatever,  and  once  declined  some  attention  I  offered  her.  That 
settled  me  once  for  all.  She  was  not  a  "society  woman"  and  I  never 
attempted  to  play  the  beau  with  her  again.  She  was  a  highly  cultured 
woman. 

Having  been  a  Sunday  School  scholar  all  my  boyhood  days, 
I  thought  I  ought  to  try  my  hand  now  as  teacher.  I  had  a  class  of 
small  boys  in  the  eastern  gallery  of  the  old  Church.  Did  any  of  you 
ever  have  such  a  class?  If  so,  you  know  what  I  suffered.  The  boys 
were  not  bad  nor  rude,  but  inattentive,  and  I  failed  utterly  to  interest 
them.  One  of  them  I  induced  to  commit  the  Shorter  Catechism,  and 
he  rattled  it  off  very  glibly.  Alas!  as  far  as  I  know,  it  did  him  no 
good.  Another  is  now  called  Colonel,  not  that  he  ever  commanded 
a  regiment,  but  he  is  so  big,  that  he  is  entitled  to  high  military  rank. 
I  was  in  a  state  of  chronic  discouragement.  After  getting  through 
with  the  lesson,  I  could  only  sit  there,  trying  to  keep  the  boys  quiet 
and  waiting  for  the  school  to  close. 

Here  I  must  tell  about  the  music  we  had  at  Sunday  School  at 
that  time.  One  day,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bailey,  founder  of  this  Seminary, 
conducted  the  public  exercises  of  the  school.  He  gave  out  a  hymn, 
but  the  usual  leader  was  absent,  and  it  was  intimated  to  me  that 
I  must  start  the  tune.  I  declined,  but  the  request  was  repeated. 
Hymn  books  were  scarce,  and  Mr.  Bailey  began  to  "parcel  out  the 
lines."  He  read  the  first  two  lines,  and  I  determined  to  try  my  skill 
as  precentor.  I  started,  and  other  teachers  striking  in  prompty,  we 
got  through  the  two  lines  successfully.  Mr.  Bailey  read  two  more 
lines,  but  by  that  time  I  had  forgotten  the  tune — it  was  impossible  for 
me  to  remember  words  and  tune  both.  There  was  a  dead  silence, 
and  we  had  no  more  singing  that  day.  A  friend  of  mine  made 
a  similar  attempt  once,  and  failed  as  I  did.  His  sister  rebuked  him 
when  he  returned  home,  saying  "You  knew  you  couldn't  do  it."  He 
replied,  "No,  I  didn't  know  it.  I  had  never  tried,  but  I  know  it 
now." 

I  am  wandering  again,  and  must  come  back  to  the  Sunday  School. 
While  I  was  waiting  for  the  school  to  close,  I  could  not  help  observing 
a  class  in  the  western  gallery.  The  class,  composed  of  girls,  was  full 
to  overflowing,  and  the  teacher  was  Miss  Baldwin.  Teacher  and 
scholars  were  busy  every  minute — all  were  alive  to  what  was  going  on 
in  the  class.     Some  of  the  scholars  had  been  attending  there  from 

[275] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


childhood  to  womanhood.  I  could  not  hear  a  word  that  was  spoken, 
and  could  only  gaze  and  wonder,  and  perhaps  envy  the  skill  evidently 
displayed  by  the  teacher. 

Other  years  passed.  Being  now  a  married  man,  and  no  longer  a 
beau.  Miss  Baldwin  began  to  recognize  me  as  an  old  acquaintance. 
She  had  some  little  business  matters  she  got  me  to  attend  to.  She 
was  living  with  her  maternal  grandmother,  and  paid  no  board,  but  did 
not  have  means  for  entire  self-support.  She  told  me  if  she  survived 
her  grandmother,  she  would  endeavor  to  obtain  a  school  of  girls;  that 
she  desired,  above  all  other  things,  to  teach  young  girls.  She  had 
taught,  with  some  assistance,  a  charity  school  for  several  years,  there 
being  no  public  free  schools  here  at  the  time;  and  after  her  grand- 
mother's death,  she  opened  a  regular  school  in  the  town. 

By  that  time  the  second  year  of  the  late  war  had  arrived,  and  it 
was  evident  to  me  that  the  gentleman  who  was  then  principal  of  the 
Seminary,  then  known  as  Augusta  Female  Seminary,  would  soon 
resign.  I  suggested  to  Miss  Baldwin  that  she  and  Miss  Agnes 
McClung  should  take  charge  of  the  Seminary  as  joint  principals.  They 
both  ridiculed  the  idea.  Miss  Baldwin  said  she  did  not  have  the 
scholarship  fitting  her  for  the  position.  I  replied  that  she  could  get 
other  teachers  as  she  required  them.  I  persisted,  telling  her  what  I 
had  observed  of  her  skill  in  teaching  and  managing  a  Sunday  School, 
and  insisted  that  she  had  a  peculiar  talent  for  the  position.  She  and 
Miss  McClung  became  accustomed  to  the  suggestion,  and  finally,  when 
the  resignation  referred  to  took  place,  they  submitted  to  their  fate 
and  were  ushered  in.  That's  the  way  the  famous  Mary  Baldwin 
Seminary  began,  the  name  of  the  institution  having  been  changed  by 
Act  of  the  State  Legislature. 

And  now,  young  ladies  of  the  Seminary,  if  any  of  you  are  ambi- 
tious to  be  principal  of  such  an  institution,  I  exhort  you  to  give  your- 
selves to  teaching  a  class,  it  may  be  in  the  gallery  of  an  old  church, 
and  it  may  be  you  will  attain  to  the  same  distinction. 

But  seriously,  young  ladies,  I  commend  to  you  the  example  of 
the  two  ladies  of  whom  I  have  just  spoken.  The  mind  of  the  one 
was  highly  cultivated  ;  the  other  did  not  pretend  to  scholarship,  but 
she  possessed  a  natural  good  sense  which  made  her  judgment  almost 
unerring,  and  a  kindliness  of  heart  that  won  the  love  of  all  who  knew 
her.  The  former,  accomplished  as  she  was,  leaned  upon  the  latter, 
and  after  her  death  declared  that  she  had  never  failed  to  follow  her 
advice  without  regretting  it— that  her  death  was  the  greatest  affliction 
she  had  ever  experiened.  She  was  eminent  for  goodness,  coupled 
with  good  sense.  The  homesick  girls  nestled  around  her  as  if  she  had 
been  their  mother.     While  tenderly  caring  for  them,  she  sternly  in- 

[276] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


sisted  upon  perfect  rectitude  of  conduct,  never  tolerating  the  least 
tendency  to  deception.  Of  both  ladies,  it  may  be  said  they  "came 
not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister."  I  never  heard  either  of 
them  complain  of  want  or  personal  discomfort.  Neither  was  wealthy, 
and  one  was  poor  at  the  beginning  of  their  career,  but  they  sought  not 
riches.  Each  sought  to  promote  the  welfare  of  others.  Thus  they  led 
useful  and  happy  lives.  If  you  wish  to  be  useful  and  happy,  seek,  by 
Divine  help  the  same  characteristics,  and  do  likewise. 


SERMON  PREACHED  BY  REV.  J.  W.  ROSEBRO,  D.  D. 

Romans  XII:  1.  I  count  it  a  great  privilege  to  take  part  in  this 
Centennial  Celebration.  One  who  has  ever  lived  in  "The  Valley"  is 
always  glad  to  return  and  meet  the  noble  people  of  this  favored 
region.  I  am  glad  to  be  a  part  of  what  your  honored  elder  in  his 
address  of  welcome  has  so  happily  called,  "the  family  gathering"; 
especially  now  that  you  know  that  your  loved  pastor  is  to  remain 
with  you. 

These  Centennial  Celebrations  are  not  merely  to  gratify  our 
sentiments,  though  that  is  well.  They  make  us  look  back  over  all 
the  way  the  Lord  our  God  has  led  us  these  hundred  years  and  count 
their  many  mercies.  They  bring  back  the  remembrance  of  what  our 
fathers  and  mothers  did  for  Christ  and  the  Church.  Our  hearts  were 
tender  as  your  venerable  historian  whom  you  all  hold  in  such  affec- 
tionate honor,  brought  before  us  the  vivid  picture  of  the  congregation 
which  worshipped  in  the  old  Church  in  the  days  of  his  youth.  They 
make  us  love  the  Church  and  "prize  her  heavenly  ways";  they  make 
us  sing  with  deeper  tone — "Our  God,  our  help  in  ages  past";  "Thus 
far  the  Lord  has  led  me  on,"  and  as  we  think  on  these  mercies  be  led 
to  a  truer,  more  loving  service. 

It  is  this  service  I  wish  to  press  on  our  hearts  to-day,  and  to 
raise  the  question  whether  it  is  a 

"Reasonable  Service.  ' '  The  service  demanded  of  us  is  not  a  light 
one.  We  must  accept  God  as  our  Sovereign  who  has  the  right  to  rule 
our  whole  life.  We  must  accept  Jesus  as  our  Master  who  has  the 
right  to  say  to  us  "go,"  and  we  must  go  where  he  bids ;  "come"  and 
we  must  obey.  We  must  love  Him  more  than  husband  or  wife  or 
child;  more  than  houses  or  lands.  He  demands  that  whether  we  eat 
or  drink  or  whatsoever  we  do,  we  must  do  all  in  His  glory.  He  tells 
us  we  must  deny  ourselves,  take  up  our  cross  daily  and  follow  Him; 
that  we  must  bear  suffering  or  pain  or  loss  without  murmuring;  yea 
even  to  die  if  need  be  at  His  will. 

Is  it  reasonable  that  we  should  render  such  a  service? 

[277] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


In  answer  to  this  question,  see,  First:  Who  claims  this  of  us?  It 
is  our  God.  The  corner  stone  on  which  rests  our  obligation  to  serve  is 
to  be  found  in  the  being  and  character  of  God. 

One  of  the  primal  facts  of  man's  nature  is  that  he  must  have  some 
god.  This  is  proved  by  the  testimony  of  all  peoples  in  all  ages.  The 
most  enlightened  nations  as  well  as  those  sunk  in  the  most  degraded 
ignorance  and  sin  worship  some  god.  It  is  true  their  gods  were  "like 
to  corruptible  man  and  birds  and  beasts  and  creeping  things."  It  is 
true  that  their  worship  often  led  to  cruelty,  uncleanness  and  lusts. 
Still  it  shows  that  man  feels  the  need  of  a  god.  Man  is  a  dependent 
creature.  He  was  not  made  to  stand  alone  like  the  oak.  He  is  like 
the  vine.  The  vine  must  cling  to  and  depend  on  something.  Its 
tendrils  are  its  hands  with  which  it  clasps  and  clings.  If  it  has  no 
support  it  will  fall  prone,  but  it  will  still  cling  to  something;  to  a  broken 
stick,  to  a  clod,  or  even  to  itself.  Give  it  a  support  and  it  will  climb 
as  high  as  its  support  and  bring  forth  fruit.     God  made  it  so. 

So  is  man.  He  must  have  some  god  to  cling  to.  Our  God  is  high 
and  lifted  up;  glorious  in  His  being  and  character;  infinitely  above 
man's  highest  conception  are  His  majesty  and  glory;  "infinite,  eternal 
and  unchangeable  in  His  being  and  wisdom,  power,  holiness,  justice, 
goodness  and  truth."  He  is  our  Creator,  Preserver,  constant  and 
kind  Benefactor,  who  is  blessed  forever.  He  is  worthy  to  receive  the 
worship,  praise  and  love  of  all  His  creatures. 

Not  only  is  He  thus  lifted  up  infinitely  above  us,  but  He  has 
stooped  in  compassion  to  be  our  Father,  that  He  might  make  us  His 
dear  children.  Yea,  He  stooped  to  clothe  Himself  in  human  form  and 
nature  that  He  might  come  still  nearer  to  us.  Thus  in  His  human 
nature  Jesus  is  by  our  side,  so  near  that  our  faith  can  cling  to  Him; 
yet  is  He  God  over  all  so  that  clinging  to  Him  and  striving  to  be  like 
Him,  we  climb  higher  and  higher,  till  we  shall  be  "like  Him."  Is  it 
not  reasonable  that  we  should  serve  a  God  so  infinitely  worthy  of  the 
deepest  love  and  worship  and  who  has  so  graciously  provided  for  the 
utmost  need  of  our  soul? 

Second:  The  second  proof  of  the  reasonableness  of  this  service  is 
found  in  the  "mercies  of  God."  We  take  as  the  example  of  these 
mercies  the  justification  of  the  tingodly.  Here  again  we  face  one  of  the 
primal  needs  of  man's  soul.  The  oldest  book  of  the  world  gives  us 
this  cry  of  the  heart,  "How  shall  man  be  just  with  God?"  The  ages 
give  no  answer  that  satisfies.  Men  have  said,  I  will  oflFer  thousands  of 
sacrifices  on  the  altar  of  my  god.  But  thousands  of  rams  and  ten 
thousands  of  rivers  of  oil  have  not  brought  peace.  Men  have  said  I 
will  aflflict  my  body  with  fastings  and  scourgings;  I  will  shut  myself 
from  the  comforts  and  joys  of  home  and  love  that  I  may  give  days 

[278] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


and  nights  to  prayer  and  afflicting  my  soul;  but  still  the  answer  of 
peace  came  not.  They  have  even  said  I  will  give  "thefruit  of  mybody 
for  the  sin  of  my  soul."  Mothers  brought  their  little  babes  and  laid 
this  costliest  of  sacrifices  in  the  red  hot  hands  of  Moloch  to  be  con- 
sumed for  their  sin.  The  cry  for  pardon  and  peace  was  not  answered, 
there  was  added  to  that  cry,  the  dying  wail  of  the  babe  to  linger  in 
the  mother's  heart  as  a  torturing  memory!  The  "multitudinous  seas" 
could  not  wash  the  stain  of  blood  from  the  soul  of  Macbeth;  nor  could 
the  little  hand  of  his  guilty  wife  e'er  be  clean  or  her  sorely  charged 
heart  ever  cease  to  cry  out  its  agony  of  anguish,  "Oh!  Oh!  Oh!" 

God  answers  this  great  cry  of  the  world  by  saying,  "I  even  I  am  He 
who  blotteth  out  thy  transgressions,"  though  your  sins  "be  red  like 
crimson"  "they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow."  How  does  He  accomplish 
this?  Recall  Paul's  masterly  argument  to  which  our  text  is  the  con- 
clusion. Black  is  the  picture  he  gives  of  man's  sin;  Jew  and  Gentile 
are  alike  under  condemnation,  yet,  by  the  mercy  of  God  all  may  be 
justified  by  faith  and  thus  have  peace  with  God.  Thus,  by  faith  in 
Christ  who  died  for  us,  each  may  have  his  heart  cry  answered. 
Countless  thousands  have  come  like  burdened  Christian  in  Pilgrim's 
Progress  and  stood  beneath  the  cross,  as  they  looked  with  penitence  and 
faith  on  Him  who  was  bearing  their  sins  and  dying  for  their  guilt, 
somehow  the  burden  rolled  away  and  they  found  rest  unto  their  souls. 

Never  was  answer  found  to  this  question  of  the  ages,  "How  shall 
man  be  just  with  God?"  till  the  gospel  of  God's  love  and  grace  pro- 
claimed that  Jesus  should  save  His  people  from  their  sins.  The  ocean 
can  not  wash  the  blood  stain  from  guilty  Macbeth,  but 

There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood 

Drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins, 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood 

Lose  all  their  guilty  stains. 

Is  it  not  reasonable  we  should  serve  God  whose  mercy  is  so  great? 

We  argue  again  that  this  is  a  reasonable  service,  because  only  in 
this  way  can  we  reach  our  highest  happiness  in  this  life  and  in  the 
life  to  come.  Many  have  the  idea  that  religion  shuts  us  off  from 
most  of  the  pleasure  of  this  life,  though  it  offers  pleasures  forever- 
more  in  a  world  to  come;  that  it  hems  us  in  and  is  ever  saying  "thou 
shalt  not  do  this";  that  it  sternly  points  to  a  narrow  way  and  relent- 
lessly punishes  all  who  wander  from  it.  We  do  not  want  to  lose  the 
life  to  come,  therefore,  we  will  take  religion  as  a  penance  we  pay  for 
what  we  shall  receive  hereafter.  Blot  out  the  woes  of  the  life  to 
come  and  we  would  be  happier  without  religion.     It  was  with  this  lie 


[279] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


the  devil  seduced  Eve.  She  would  be  a  happier  and  higher  being  if 
she  cast  off  God's  claims  to  her  love  and  obedience.  Alas!  by  bitter, 
bitter  experience  she  found  her  mistake  and  sin. 

God  is  the  "Happy  God."  He  delights  in  mercy.  He  is  love. 
Could  He  demand  of  us  what  would  make  us  unhappy?  Are  not  all 
His  commands  wise  and  holy  and  good?  Every  preacher  here  to-day 
has  talked  with  those  standing  near  eternity;  have  you  ever  heard 
one  regret  that  he  had  tried  to  serve  God?  You  have  talked  with 
aged  Christians  who  for  a  lifetime  had  served  the  Lord;  have  you 
ever  heard  one  say,  "Had  I  but  served  the  world  as  I  have  served  my 
God,  I  would  not  be  left  desolate  now?"  Have  you  ever  heard  one 
regret  the  great  mistake  made  in  serving  Christ  with  heart  and  mind 
and  body? 

Many  have  we  heard  deplore  that  they  had  not  served  Him  better; 
that  they  had  not  presented  themselves  as  living  sacrifices;  that  they 
had  not  begun  earlier  in  life;  that  their  zeal  had  flagged  and  their 
love  grown  cold;  but  never  one  whose  joy  was  not  that  he  had  served 
the  Lord. 

Now,  I  ask  is  it  not  a  reasonable  service  we  are  called  to  render  to 
such  a  God?  Is  it  not  a  reasonable  service  to  give  under  such  mercies? 
Is  it  not  reasonable  to  give  it  when  only  thus  can  we  reach  our  highest 
happiness  and  well-being?  Can  any  service  we  render  be  too  great? 
If  He  says  to  you  fathers  and  mothers  give  me  your  child  to  labor  for 
me  in  China,  in  Africa  can  you  say,  "It  is  too  much  for  me  to  give?" 
If  He  will  that  you  be  a  child  of  pain  and  by  your  submission  and 
cheerful  patience  glorify  Him,  shall  you  not  do  it?  If  He  tells  thee 
to  deny  thyself  that  you  may  the  more  freely  give  to  the  need  of  His 
poor,  is  that  too  much  to  ask  when  He  made  Himself  poor  that  He 
might  make  thee  rich? 

See  what  courage  and  sacrifice  the  soldiers  of  Japan  are  showing 
for  love  of  their  emperor.  After  one  of  Napoleon's  fearful  battles  a 
member  of  the  Old  Guard  was  laid  on  the  table  that  the  surgeon  might 
cut  out  a  bullet  buried  in  his  breast.  The  surgeon  hesitated  lest  the 
knife  was  going  too  deep— "Cut  deeper  and  you  will  find  the  emperor" 
said  the  brave  soldier.  Shall  not  the  soldiers  of  Christ  have  His 
name  deeper  in  their  hearts  than  any  other?  Shall  they  not  be  willing 
to  say  in  all  humiUty  but  in  truth,  '  'Let  us  die  if  need  be  for  our 
King." 

Yes,  they  have  done  so.  God  has  specially  called  the  Presbyterian 
family  to  suffer  great  things  for  Him.  With  the  blood  of  her  children 
has  been  written  the  names  of  most  of  the  noble  army  of  martyrs. 
Along  the  dykes  of  Holland;  in  the  fertile  plains  of  France;  or  on  the 
mountain  slopes  of  Switzerland;  on  England's  green  fields;  amid  the 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,    STAUNTON,  VA. 


mountains  and  valleys  of  Scotland,  have  they  contended  for  liberty  and 
for  God,  and  made  the  world  their  debtors.  It  is  an  honor  to  belong 
to  the  number  of  those  who  have  written  one  of  the  most  glorious 
pages  in  the  history  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ.  It  is  an  honor,  too,  to 
be  the  descendants  of  the  men  and  women  who  labored  and  suffered 
for  the  inheritance  you  have  in  this  Church,  and  the  call  to  love  and 
service  is  loud  and  strong. 

By  all  the  memories  of  these  one  hundred  years;  by  this  memorial 
stone  we,  to-day,  set  up;  by  the  saintly  lives  of  the  fathers  and 
mothers  who  here  finished  their  work;  by  all  that  the  cross  of  our 
Lord  tells  us  of  His  love  and  sacrifice;  by. all  the  mercies  of  God  are 
we  called  to  present  ourselves  as  living  sacrifices,  to  hold  fast  to  the 
faith  delivered  to  us  and  to  count  all  we  can  do  for  the  Church  and 
Christ  as  our  "reasonable  service." 

For  her  my  tears  shall  fall; 

For  her  my  prayers  ascend; 
To  her  my  cares  and  toils  be  given. 

Till  toils  and  cares  shall  end. 


PRESBYTERIAN  BEGINNINGS   IN  VIRGINIA,  BY  REV.  JAMES  P.  SMITH 

Fathers  and  Brethren : 

A  year  or  two  ago,  in  an  old  Virginia  home,  surrounded  by 
portraits  and  relics  of  one  of  the  most  honored  families  of  Colonial 
Virginia,  I  was  seeking  with  great  interest  the  story  and  traditions 
of  a  great  name,  when  a  descendant  bearing  that  name  asked  with 
a  grave  simplicity,  "You  have  to  be  an  old  man  do  you  not,  to  take 
interest  in  such  things?"  I  suppose  it  is  true  in  good  degree,  the 
old  for  the  past  and  the  young  for  the  future.  But  it  is  because  we 
are  deeply  interested  in  the  future  and  what  our  young  people  will 
make  of  it  that  we  gather  the  facts  of  the  past.  We  would  give 
security,  strength  and  guidance  to  the  young  who  reach  out  so 
earnestly  into  the  coming  years.  The  gun  which  is  to  have  a  steady 
aim  must  have  a  strong  shoulder  back  of  it. 

In  a  short  hour,  I  am  to  condense  a  history,  about  which  many 
good  volumes  have  been  written,  and  about  which  many  more  will  yet 
be  gathered  on  our  library  shelves.  But  I  must  not  forget  that  I  am 
not  writing  a  history,  but  I  am  to  make  a  brief  address,  bringing  to 
a  popular  assembly  something  to  interest,  as  well  as  inform,  about 
the  earlier  days  of  the  people  of  the  Presbyterian  faith  in  the  Old 
Dominion. 

Francis  Makemie.  In  the  library  of  Union  Theological  Semi- 
nary, at  Richmond,  is  the  very  curious  old  desk  of  Francis  Makemie, 
the  first  ordained  Presbyterian  minister  in  Virginia,  and  probably  in 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


America,  of  whom  we  have  any  knowledge.  It  is  the  oldest  and  most 
interesting  relic  of  American  Presbyterianism  in  existence  to-day. 
It  is  a  striking  fact  that  there  should  be  left  to  us,  not  the  chair  as  that 
of  John  Wesley,  which  is  in  London,  or  the  pulpit  as  that  of  George 
Whitefield,  which  is  in  Philadelphia,  but  the  desk  of  Makemie,  for 
he  was  a  man  of  the  pen,  and  of  papers,  and  cared  for  the  affairs  of 
many  people,  as  well  as  his  own. 

Francis  Makemie,  a  native  of  Donegal,  Ireland,  educated  at  a 
Scotch  University,  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Laggan,  Ire- 
land, in  1680,  that  he  might  be  sent  to  America  as  an  evangelist,  in 
response  to  the  petition  of  Judge  Stevens,  of  Lord  Baltimore's  Council 
in  Maryland.  After  a  sojourn  in  Barbadoes,  Makemie  came,  in  1684, 
to  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  and  at  Snow  Hill  found  a  group  of 
Presbyterians,  Irish  and  Scotch-Irish.  He  was  an  educated  and  able 
minister  of  the  Gospel;  a  man  "of  energy,  activity  and  courage.  He 
is  described  as  a  minister  of  eminent  piety  and  strong  intellectual 
power,  with  a  fascinating  address,  conspicuous  for  natural  endow- 
ments and  for  his  dignity  and  for  his  fitness  as  a  Christian  minister." 
He  entered  upon  an  active  ministry,  and  preached  with  power  and 
effect  in  the  peninsula  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  and  was  heard  in 
many  places  from  Boston  and  New  York  to  Charleston,  S.  C. 

He  crossed  the  ocean  twice  to  seek  other  ministers  for  the  Amer- 
ican colonies.  He  organized  the  first  Presbytery  in  America,  at  Phil- 
adelphia, in  1706.  He  was  arrested  in  Accomac  for  preaching  and 
carried  to  Williamsburg,  where  before  the  Governor  and  Council  he 
bore  himself  with  such  dignity,  and  spoke  with  such  force,  that  he  was 
granted  license  to  preach  anywhere  in  the  Colony  of  Virginia.  He 
was  arrested  in  New  York,  1707,  and  by  Lord  Cornbery  angrily  sent 
to  prison.  For  two  months  he  lay  in  jail  in  Manhattan,  until  at  a 
hearing  in  court  he  so  convinced  the  court  of  his  right,  under  the  English 
.  Act  of  Toleration,  that  he  was  again  set  free,  with  an  unjust  infliction 
of  fees  and  charges  of  more  than  $400.  Before  the  Colonial  Assembly 
of  New  York  the  case  of  Makemie  secured  the  adoption  of  the  Tolera- 
tion Act.  His  was  one  of  the  first  voices  raised  in  America  for  religious 
liberty  and  the  freedom  of  the  Gospel.  His  sermon  in  New  York  on 
the  text,  "We  ought  to  obey  God  rather  than  man,"  was  printed  in 
Boston,  and  largely  helped  to  educate  public  sentiment.  He  founded 
churches,  after  the  Presbyterian  order  on  the  Eastern  Shore  and  else- 
where, which  abide  to-day.  Francis  Makemie  was  the  father  of  the 
American  Presbyterian  Church.  For  twenty-five  years  he  fought  the 
battle  of  the  rights  of  conscience,  and  broke  down  the  barriers  of 
intolerance  and  proscription.     He  laid  the  foundation  of  Presbytery, 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


on  which  have  been  built  all  English  speaking  Presbyterian  Churches 
of  this  country.  He  died  in  Accomac,  in  1708,  and  his  grave  at  Snow 
Hill,  Maryland,  has  been  marked  by  a  fitting  monument. 

Mr.  Makemie,  in  1684,  a  year  after  he  came  to  the  Eastern  Shore, 
crossed  from  Cape  Charles,  and  found  at  Lynn  Haven,  on  the  south 
side  of  Hampton  Roads,  a  congregation  of  dissenting  Christians, 
mourning  greatly  over  the  death  of  their  pastor.  Rev.  James  Porter. 
Whether  they  were  English  Puritans  or  Scotch  Presbyterians,  we  do  not 
know.  He  made  them  repeated  visits,  and,  in  1692,  secured  for  them 
a  pastor  in  the  Presbyterian,  Rev.  Josias  Mackie.  Mr.  Mackie  had 
four  preaching  places  on  Elizabeth  River,  in  what  is  now  Norfolk 
County,  and  this  was  the  origin  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Norfolk. 
It  claims  to  be  the  first  regularly  organized  Presbyterian  Church,  not 
only  in  Virginia,  but  in  America. 

Nonconformists  on  the  South  Side.  English  Puritans  came  to 
this  country  with  the  first  Protestant  settlements,  under  the  Stuarts 
in  England,  who  had  war  and  not  peace  for  those  who  would  not  con- 
form in  everything  to  the  Church  of  Henry  VIII.  The  best  of  English 
Puritans  came  in  colonies  and  settled  along  the  Atlantic  coast.  They 
had  not  separated  from  the  English  Church  nor  divided  themselves 
into  Presbyterian  Puritans  (Barrowites)  or  Congregational  Puritans 
(Brownites)  but  gathering  in  the  new  settlements,  they  were  Cal- 
vinists  in  faith,  and  believed  in  the  government  of  the  congregation 
by  elders. 

Rev.  Alexander  Whitaker  came  to  Virginia,  with  Sir  Thomas 
Dale,  in  1611.  He  was  "the  self-denying  Apostle  of  Virginia."  He 
was  an  earnest  and  evangelical  Christian  minister.  When  he  wrote 
back  to  England  for  young,  godly,  earnest  ministers  for  Virginia,  he 
said:  "Young  men  are  fittest  for  this  country,  and  we  have  no  need 
of  ceremonies  or  livers."  His  successor,  iu  1618,  was  Rev.  George 
Keith,  a  Scotch  Nonconformist,  settled  at  Elizabeth  City.  At  Barba- 
does  he  was  associated  with  Rev.  Lewis  Hughes,  who  writes  home: 
"  Ceremonies  are  in  no  request,  nor  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  I 
use  it  not  at  all.  I  have,  by  the  help  of  God,  begun  a  church  govern- 
ment of  ministers  and  elders. ' ' 

A  body  of  such  English  Puritans  settled  on  the  south  side  of 
James  River  in  Nansemond  and  Suffolk.  They  were  of  the  reformed 
faith,  and  a  local  Presbyterian  organization,  and  refused  to  conform 
to  the  English  Church.  Among  them  were  men  of  property  and  the 
highest  standing  in  the  Colony.  General  Richard  Bennett,  a  wealthy 
planter  of  Nansemond,  soldier,  statesman,  Christian  gentleman  and 
Governor  of  the  Colony  of  Virginia,  was  an  elder  of  this  nonconform- 
ing church.     Daniel  Gookins,  Sr.,  founder  of  Newport  News  and  a 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


proprietor  in  Nansemond,  and  his  son  Daniel  Gookins,  Jr.,  were  leaders 
among  these  people,  and  of  high  standing  in  the  Colony.  In  the 
midst  of  these  English  nonconforming  people,  in  1632,  the  old  church 
near  Smithfield  was  erected,  and  has  lately  been  restored.  Was  it 
built  by  these  nonconforming  people?  It  would  be  a  strange  thing  if 
it  were  not  so.  In  1641,  nine  years  later,  this  dissenting  people 
asked  from  New  England  for  three  ministers.  There  were  three 
charges,  in  1641,  on  the  southside  of  the  James,  and  certainly  two  dis- 
senting ministers  came.  Under  the  persecution  of  Governor  Berkeley 
these  Puritan  people  of  the  Southside  were  driven  away,  and  found 
welcome  and  toleration  in  Maryland.  Berkeley  wanted  neither  public 
schools  nor  printing  nor  Presbyterians  in  his  Colony,  and  we  are  in- 
debted to  the  intolerant  old  Tory  for  grouping  Presbyterians  with 
printing  and  public  schools.     He  was  correct  in  his  grouping. 

Huguenots  in  Virginia.  French  Protestant  refugees  began 
coming  to  America  as  early  as  1623.  They  were  the  founders  of  New 
Amsterdam,  now  the  great  metropolis,  New  York.  They  spoke  French, 
they  professed  the  faith  of  their  countryman,  John  Calvin,  and  they 
organized  Presbyterian  Churches.  As  severities  increased  in  France, 
the  immigration  increased,  and  the  French  Protestants,  or  Huguenots, 
settled  in  many  places  from  Massachusetts  to  South  Carolina.  An  im- 
measurable loss  to  France,  they  were  of  great  value  to  Holland  and 
to  England,  and  especially  to  the  new  Colonies  on  the  American 
shores.  Industrious  and  thrifty,  they  were  never  a  burden  wherever 
they  went,  but  an  immediate  addition  to  production  and  wealth.  They 
were  a  people  brought  into  a  strong,  individual  manhood,  by  their 
Calvinistic  faith.  The  influence  of  this  exiled  people  in  moulding  the 
character  of  the  American  people  has  been  great,  far  beyond  the  pro- 
portion of  their  numbers.  Their  names  are  on  the  roll  of  American 
patriots,  statesmen,  soldiers,  philanthropists,  and  ministers  of 
religion.  They  have  furnished  men  of  note  in  every  calling.  William 
of  Orange  was  greatly  indebted  to  the  Huguenot  exiles.  They  built 
factories  and  began  the  vast  manufacturing  development  of  England. 
In  the  wars  with  Louis  XIV  there  were  about  700  French  officers  in 
the  English  regiments,  and  three  full  regiments  of  French  Protestants. 
When,  therefore,  they  came  to  Virginia,  about  1700,  they  were 
received  with  favor.  A  reservation  of  10,000  acres  was  laid  off  for 
them  on  the  south  side  of  the  James,  twenty  miles  above  the  falls,  or 
Richmond,  at  Manikin,  where  had  been  the  tribe  of  Mohican  Indians. 

Under  Pastor  de  Richbourg,  this  reservation  was  made  a  parish 
called  "King  William,"  in  Henrico  County,  and  exempted  for  seven 
years  both  from  general  and  local  taxation.  There  were,  perhaps, 
seven  or  eight  hundred  in  the  settlement  at  Manikin  town,  but  they 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


soon  scattered  and  made  their  homes  in  many  counties  of  Eastern 
Virginia.  They  were  disciples  of  John  Calvin,  and  Presbyterians. 
They  did  not  come  to  perish.  They  were  a  vigorous  and  active 
people,  of  pure  morals  and  religious  intelligence.  They  multiphed 
until  they  almost  occupied  the  land.  It  would  scarcely  be  possible  to 
name  the  families,  whose  names  are  familiar,  and  some  of  them  on 
the  roll  of  Virginia's  most  famous  men— Fontaines  and  Flournoys, 
Maryes  and  Maurys,  Dabneys  and  Dupuys,  Cockes  and  Chandlers, 
Legrand,  Fourqurean,  Bondurant,  Micheaux,  Lacy,  Bernard,  Watkins, 
Moncure,  Micou,  Latane,  They  have  furnished  a  large  and  valuable 
element  of  the  people  who  were  gathered  into  Presbyterian  Churches 
by  Samuel  Davies,  in  all  the  Southside  of  Virginia— in  Cumberland, 
Buckingham,  Powhatan,  Prince  Edward,  Charlotte,  Halifax,  Amelia 
and  Nottoway.     Their  children  have  gone  throughout  the  land. 

A  French  maiden,  Susannah  Rochette,  called  by  her  sisters  "The 
Little  Night-Cap,"  was  sent  in  a  hogshead  on  board  a  ship  from  a 
French  port  to  England.  She  married  one  Abraham  Michaux,  of  her 
own  people,  and  after  some  years  in  Holland,  they  came  to  this 
country.  They  landed  in  Stafford,  on  the  Potomac,  and  thence  went 
to  Manikin  town,  and  made  a  home  on  the  Southside.  Their  children 
married  Woodson  and  Venable  and  Morton  and  Watkins  and  Carring- 
ton.  The  descendants  of  "The  Little  Night-Cap  "  are  as  numerous 
as  the  sands  of  the  seashore.  They  are  largely  the  Presbyterian  ele- 
ment of  Eastern  Virginia  and  Southside  Virginia,  and  are  found  in 
Briery,  Cub  Creek,  Charlotte  C.  H.,  and  many  other  churches. 

A  New  Life  Coming.  When  Makemie  died  in  1708,  quite  remote 
from  the  Eastern  Shore,  and  unknown  to  the  Presbyterians  of  Acco- 
mac  and  Elizabeth  River,  there  was  coming  a  stream  of  new  life  into 
Virginia.  There  were  Presbyterians  at  "Potomoke,"  somewhere  in 
the  lower  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah  who  petitioned  the  Synod  of  New 
York,  in  1720,  that  a  minister  be  sent  to  them.  When  four  years 
before  that,  in  1716,  Governor  Spotswood  and  his  company  of  gentle- 
men rode  from  Germanna,  on  the  Rapidan,  and  peeped  over  the  Blue 
Ridge,  at  Swift  Run  Gap,  they  saw  a  goodly  land,  a  gleaming  river,  a 
great  forest  and  a  long  mountain  wall  beyond.  They  camped  by  the 
beautiful  river ;  they  drank  of  their  many  liquors ;  they  toasted  the 
king  ;  they  buried  a  bottle,  with  a  written  memorial  of  their  trans- 
montane  expedition ;  and  they  went  home  thinking  that  in  all  the 
great  wilderness  there  was  no  white  settler.  But  down  near  Shep- 
herdstown,  south  of  the  Potomac,  in  an  old  graveyard,  is  one  stone  to 
the  memory  of  a  German  woman  who  died  in  1707. 

About  three  years  before  Spotswood's  famous  expedition,  in  1713, 
the  immigration  to  America  had  begun  from  the  north  of   Ireland. 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


They  were  Scotch  Presbyterians  who  had  come  to  Ireland  in  "the 
planting  of  Ulster,"  and  later  were  somewhat  mingled  with  English 
Puritans  and  the  Huguenot  migration.  But  the  people  who  had  saved 
the  day  for  their  king  at  the  gates  of  Derry,  and  made  Ulster  a  pros- 
perous and  orderly  land,  were  not  permitted  to  dwell  in  peace.  Under 
the  Test  Act  these  Presbyterian  people  were  made  exceedingly  un- 
comfortable. They  could  hold  no  office;  they  could  not  be  married  by 
their  own  ministers;  lands  were  leased  by  bishops  and  landlords,  with 
clauses  forbidding  the  erection  of  meeting  houses.  The  Schism  Act 
of  1714  would  have  swept  the  Presbyterian  Church  out  of  existence  in 
Ireland,  had  not  Queen  Anne  died  before  it  came  into  operation.  The 
Presbyterian  people  of  Ulster,  estranged  and  wearied  by  the  long  pro^ 
scriptions  and  exactions,  began  to  leave  the  country  by  thousands. 
For  nearly  forty  years,  without  intermission,  the  stream  flowed  to  the 
American  shores.  There,  in  the  wilderness  of  a  new  country,  they 
hoped  to  enjoy,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  that  ease  and  quiet  of  con- 
science, that  freedom  to  serve  God  in  their  own  way,  and  that  happiness 
of  home  which  was  denied  them  in  their  native  land.  But  the  hand  of 
God  was  in  that  great  migration.  To  the  new  and  unexplored  Con- 
tinent, a  land  of  large  proportions,  with  great  forests,  great. rivers 
and  great  mountains,  sparsely  occupied  with  wandering  tribes  of 
Indians,  it  sent  a  hardy  race,  with  indomitable  courage  and  unfaihng 
fortitude,  untrammeled  by  love  of  ease  or  habits  of  luxury.  Physically 
and  morally  they  were  the  people  to  conquer  the  wilderness,  to  resist 
the  ravages  of  American  Indians,  to  slay  the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest, 
to  climb  the  mountain  passes  and  ford  the  great  rivers,  and  press  on, 
to  make  their  homes,  and  find  their  freedom  and  build  a  noble  civiliza- 
tion. The  Scotch-Irish  came  into  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  and  not  cor- 
dially received  by  those  who  were  there  before  them,  passed  on  into 
the  country  west  of  the  Alleghanies  and  made  the  strong  population  of 
Western  Pennsylvania  in  many  counties,  filled  to  this  day  with  Presby- 
terian churches.  Then  a  stream  turned  south  and  crossed  the  Potomac 
into  the  great  Virginia  Valley,  and  passed  on  and  on  up  the  Valley  in- 
to and  through  Augusta  and  Rockbridge,  and  dividing  again,  went 
into  the  splendid  Southwest  of  Virginia,  to  spread  themselves  in  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee,  or  turned  East  over  the  Blue  Ridge  to  find 
homes  in  the  Southside,  and  extend  farther  down  through  the  Pied- 
mont of  the  Carolinas.  There  were  many  "Macs,"  whose  fathers 
came  from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  many  English  names,  and 
some  French  Huguenots.  And  all  of  them,  Calvinist  and  Presbyterian, 
welded  together  by  a  common  faith  and  witness  for  the  truth,  and  by  a 
common   experience  of  persecution  and  exile,    in  the  new  continent 


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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


bravely  began  their  indomitable  exertions  for  freedom  and  religion, 
for  the  right  and  privilege  of  free  men  to  make  their  bread  and  to 
build  their  altars.  Along  the  western  valley,  from  the  Potomac  to  the 
Holston,  they  settled. 

They  felled  the  giant  trees  and  built  their  cabins,  and  cleared  their 
fields.  They  lived  on  game  and  fish  until  they  made  their  bread  from 
Virginia  soil.  They  contended  with  beasts  and  fought  the  red  Indians. 
They  made  a  wall  of  defence  of  manly  breasts,  which  was  the  protection 
of  all  the  English  settlements  on  the  eastern  rivers  of  Virginia.  They 
were  the  people  of  West  Augusta,  to  which  Washington  declared  he 
would  look  for  defense  in  the  last  resort. 

Settlements  in  the  Valley.  It  is  an  old  tradition  that  the 
first  white  man  to  make  his  home  in  the  Valley  was  a  Welshman. 
Morgan  Morgan  was  his  name  and  he  lived  at  Bunker  Hill,  between 
Winchester  and  Martinsburg.  That  was  in  1726.  And  Joist  Hite, 
with  sixteen  families,  in  1732,  came  south  of  Winchester  about  six 
miles.  Dr.  Foote  says  "it  was  the  first  regular  settlement  west  of  the 
Blue  Ridge  in  Virginia." 

Three  years  later  another  settlement  of  Scotch-Irish  was  made 
yet  farther  up  on  the  Opequon  River,  and  now  the  migration  set  in  in 
a  steady  stream.  At  Opequon  the  name  of  William  Hoge  appears, 
"an  exile  for  Christ's  sake  from  Scotland  in  the  days  of  persecution," 
the  American  ancestor  of  the  family  which  for  four  or  five  genera- 
tions has  given  men  of  power  and  eloquence  to  the  Presbyterian 
pulpit.  With  him  were  Vances  and  Glasses  and  Whites,  whose 
descendants  are  with  us  to  this  day,  true  to  the  faith  of  their  fathers. 
Dr.  Foote  in  his  invaluable  ^>ketches  says  that  Opequon  was  the  first 
church  in  which  was  gathered  the  first  Presbyterian  congregation 
west  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  The  old  Stone  Church  has  been  rebuilt  in 
late  years,  and  with  its  green  lawns  about  it,  and  its  well-cared-for 
church  yard,  where  the  first  comers  rest  in  their  tombs,  it  is  perhaps 
the  most  interesting  of  the  old  Presbyterian  Churches  in  Virginia. 
Howe's  Ilintoriml  Collection  says  that  "the  spot  where  Tuscarora 
Church  now  stands  is  the  first  place  where  the  gospel  was  pubHcly 
preached  and  divine  worship  performed  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge." 
And  Dr.  James  R.  Graham,  of  Winchester,  in  his  book,  now  in  press. 
The  Planting  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Northern  Virginia,  has  with 
great  care  and  research  developed  the  fact  that  still  earlier  there  was 
a  church  and  a  settlement  of  Presbyterians  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Potomac,  near  Shepherdstown.  As  early  as  1719,  in  the  records  of 
the  old  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  there  was  a  petition  from  the  people 
of  Potomoke,   in  Virginia,  that  an  able  gospel  minister  be  sent  to 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


settle  among  them,  and  the  Rev.  Daniel  McGill  reported,  in  1720,  that 
he  had  visited  their  people  and  "put  the  people  into  church  order." 
He  had  organized  a  Presbyterian  Church. 

It  was  in  1739  that  a  petition  came  to  the  Presbytery  of  Philadel- 
phia from  "the  back  part  of  Virginia,"  i.  e.,  from  Augusta  County, 
and  five  years  later,  in  1744,  the  Rev.  John  Thompson  came  and 
made  his  home  in  the  upper  Valley.  In  1741  the  Rev.  Samuel  Caven, 
supplying  the  churches  in  the  lower  Valley,  went  over  to  the  south 
branch  of  the  Potomac,  in  answer  to  earnest  supplication  from  the 
land  of  the  Van  Meters.  It  was  in  1738  that  the  Synod  of  New  York 
petitioned  the  Governor  of  Virginia  that  the  Presbyterians  of 
Virginia  might  have  "the  free  enjoyment  of  their  civil  and  rehgious 
liberties."  The  author  of  the  petition  was  the  Rev.  John  Caldwell, 
who  himself  presented  the  petition,  and  then  settled  a  number  of 
Presbyterian  families  in  the  counties  of  Prince  Edward,  Charlotte 
and  Campbell.  He  was  the  grandfather  of  John  C.  Calhoun,  the 
statesman  and  jurist  of  South  Carolina.  In  1738,  the  Rev.  James 
Anderson  preached  to  the  settlers  of  Augusta  County,  in  the  house  of 
John  Lewis,  the  first  sermon  between  the  Blue  Ridge  and  North 
Mountains.  And  in  1740  the  Rev.  John  Blair,  at  one  time  the  Presi- 
dent of  Princeton  College,  and  father  of  Rev.  John  D.  Blair,  after- 
wards in  Richmond,  visited  the  people  of  the  upper  Valley  and 
organized  four  churches— Forks  of  James  (Halls,  New  Monmouth, 
now  Lexington)  Timber  Ridge,  New  Providence  and  North  Mountain 
(Brown  and  Hebron) — and  from  these  have  grown  the  numerous 
constellation  we  know  as  Lexington  Presbytery. 

The  Gordons  of  Lancaster.  At  the  time,  1738,  when  Mr. 
Anderson  preached  in  the  home  of  John  Lewis  in  Augusta,  there 
came  two  Scotch  gentlemen  of  wealth  and  standing,  James  and  John 
Gordon,  who  settled  in  Lancaster  County,  on  the  Rappahannock  River. 
About  these  pious  and  cultivated  gentlemen  gathered  churches,  and 
from  them  descended  families,  widely  known  and  honored  in  Virginia 
to-day.  James  Waddell,  the  blind  preacher,  was  their  minister  for 
some  years. 

Hanover  and  Samuel  Davies.  And  about  the  same  year  there 
appears  in  history  the  remarkable  religious  interest  in  the  county  of 
Hanover,  in  connection  with  which  were  established  "reading 
houses,"  where  on  the  Lord's  Day  were  gathered  many  who  were  not 
edified  by  the  ministry  of  the  Established  Church.  Without  a  minis- 
ter, they  assembled  for  the  reading  of  the  Word  and  such  good  books 
as  had  come  to  them  in  the  providence  of  God,  especially  Luther  on 
Oalatians. 

About  the  same  year  the  Rev.  George  Whitefield,  a  Church  of 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


England  clergyman,  a  Methodist  with  the  Wesleys,  and  yet  a  Calvinist, 
preached  at  Williamsburg  with  great  power  and  fervor.  The  hand  of 
the  Lord  was  laid  upon  Virginia,  and  His  spirit  was  moving  to  produce 
an  awakening  of  evangelical  religion. 

In  1743,  Rev.  William  Robinson  visited  the  Hanover  people,  and 
soon,  in  1747,  Samuel  Davies  came,  a  noble  young  minister,  educated, 
able,  eloquent,  with  a  burning  zeal  for  Christ  and  intense  energy  in 
propagating  the  Gospel  and  winning  the  people  of  Virginia  to  Christ 
and  His  kingdom. 

In  1755,  the  Presbytery  of  Hanover  was  organized,  meeting  in 
Hanover  County,  with  Samuel  Davies,  John  Todd  ,  Alexander  Craig- 
head, Robert  Henry,  and  John  Brown. 

The  Church  of  England  was  established  by  law  in  New  York, 
Virginia  and  the  Carolinas.  "For  many  years,"  says  an  English 
chronicler  of  the  colonial  times,  "in  New  York,  Maryland,  Virginia  and 
South  Carolina,  the  growth  of  the  Presbyterian  church  was  checked  by 
persecution  and  intolerance."  In  no  colony  were  the  laws  as  severe 
against  nonconformity  as  in  Virginia.  The  people  of  Eastern  Virginia 
were  largely  the  royalists  or  cavaliers  who  under  the  Commonwealth 
fled  to  Virginia.  Loyal  to  the  king  and  to  the  Church,  they  looked  up- 
on all  "Dissenters"  as  the  enemies  of  both.  The  laws  were  most 
illiberal  and  grievous,  and  the  oppression  continued  for  a  hundred 
years.  They  were  required  under  penalty  to  attend  the  church  services. 
They  were  forbidden  to  build  churches  or  hold  religious  meetings.  They 
were  taxed  for  the  support  of  the  Established  Church.  Only  clergy- 
men of  that  Church  could  officiate  at  marriages.  Against  this  came 
the  protest  of  Baptists  and  Quakers,  asking  for  toleration.  It  is  a 
long  and  painful  story.  It  was  the  young  Samuel  Davies,  who  with 
manly  courage  and  notable  ability  and  eloquence,  stood  before  the 
General  Council  at  Williamsburg.  Withstanding  the  renowned  king's 
attorney,  Peyton  Randolph,  he  plead  not  for  toleration,  but  for  the  rights 
of  religious  freedom,  and  won  the  admiration  of  the  court  and  gentle- 
men of  old  Virginia.  A  little  later  Davies  went  to  England,  and 
before  the  king  in  council,  obtained  the  decision  that  the  "Act  of  Tol- 
eration" applied  in  the  colony  of  Virginia  (1748). 

Hanover  Presbytery.  The  contention  continued,  and  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Hanover,  organized  Presbyterianism,  took  up  the  conflict, 
which  lasted  through  and  after  the  Revolution,  and  won  for  their  own 
people,  for  Virginia,  and  all  the  American  States,  the  great  battle  of 
the  separation  of  Church  and  State,  and  the  rights  of  conscience, 
bringing  into  the  world  a  liberty  which  is  our  most  precious  inheri- 
tance, and  which  can  never  be  lost.  This  religious  liberty  the  Presby- 
terians of  Scotland  and  Ireland,  of  Holland  and  France  and  Germany 


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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


came  to  America  to  secure.  They  brought  it  with  them  in  their  Cal- 
vinistic  creed.  They  brought  in  their  Church  order  from  Scotland, 
from  Holland  and  Geneva  a  safe  and  regulated  democracy.  They 
brought  from  Scotland  a  representative  form  of  Church  government 
which  elevated  and  inspired  the  people  and  made  them  great.  They 
gave  to  the  new  and  struggling  colonies  the  civil  and  religious  liberty 
which  has  been  the  foundation  of  the  American  States  —and  the  rep- 
resentative and  graded  republican  government  which  has  protected 
the  people  and  given  unity  and  strength  to  the  commonwealths  and  to 
the  federal  government, 

John  Witherspoon.  A  great  Scotchman,  John  Witherspoon, 
the  descendant  of  John  Knox,  the  President  of  Princeton,  and  signer 
of  the  Declaration,  taught  the  sons  of  the  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians, 
and  what  they  had  not  learned  from  the  Shorter  Catechism,  they 
learned  from  John  Witherspoon.  Among  those  who  sat  at  his  feet 
were  men  who  wrote  the  Declarations  of  Augusta  and  Botetourt  in 
Virginia,  of  Mecklenburg  in  North  Carolina,  and  of  Westmoreland  in 
Western  Pennsylvania.  Caleb  Wallace,  from  Witherspoon 's  class- 
room, became  the  pastor  in  Charlotte,  and  then  in  Botetourt.  He 
wrote  those  petitions  of  Hanover  Presbytery,  which  are  among  the 
great  papers  of  American  history.  Wallace  went,  without  the  loss  of 
his  Presbyterian  religion,  to  be  the  distinguished  first  Chief  Justice 
of  the  State  of  Kentucky. 

All  through  these  Presbyterian  beginnings  in  Virginia  are  the  be- 
ginnings of  liberty  in  America.  Francis  Makemie,  facing  the  anger 
of  Lord  Cornbury  in  New  York,  and  going  to  prison  for  Christ  and  His 
people;  Samuel  Davies,  pleading  with  surpassing  eloquence  before  the 
Governor  and  Council  in  Williamsburg;  and  Caleb  Wallace,  presenting 
the  petitions  of  Hanover  Presbytery  before  the  Colonial  Assembly. 
These  are  historic  pictures,  heroic  and  inspiring.  Virginia  can  never 
forget  them.  All  the  people  of  the  land,  eighty  millions  of  them,  are 
enjoying  the  fruits  and  blessings  of  their  victories. 

Beginnings  of  Education.  Among  the  beginnings  are  the  first 
springs  of  education.  The  education  of  all  the  people  is  as  truly  the 
outcome  of  Calvinistic  religion  and  the  Presbyterian  order  as  is  civil 
and  religious  liberty  and  a  constitutional  republic.  The  author  of  the 
common  schools  of  America  was  John  Calvin. 

The  companion  and  successor  of  Samuel  Davies  was  the  Rev.  John 
Todd.  In  Louisa  County,  not  far  from  the  grave  of  Todd,  is  the  sight 
of  a  classical  school,  taught  by  Mr.  Todd,  and  at  which  James  Madison 
and  James  Monroe  and  other  notable  Virginians  were  educated.     Be- 


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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


cause  of  its  rudeness  and  simplicity,  the  boys  called  it  "The  Court  of 
St.  James."  And  when  a  Presbyterian  Church  was  built  near  by  it 
was  called  St.  James  Church. 

The  Rev.  John  Brown  had  the  first  school  in  the  Valley,  from 
which  came  the  Academy  at  Timber  Ridge  and  Washington  and  Lee 
University. 

Among  the  earliest  activities  of  Hanover  Presbytery  was  the 
movement  to  found  Hampden-Sidney  College  in  the  east  and  Wash- 
ington College  in  the  Valley.  And  from  these  twin  institutions  grew 
the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  with  its  more  than  1,000  who  have 
preached  the  Gospel— at  home  and  abroad. 

Dr.  Rice  and  Foreign  Missions.  To  Dr.  John  Holt  Rice,  a 
native  of  Bedford  County,  the  first  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  Richmond,  and  the  founder  of  Union  Seminary,  is  due  the  honor  of 
the  first  call  in  America  to  the  Church  of  Christ  to  be  the  living, 
organic,  commissioned  agent  of  Foreign  Missions.  It  was  Dr.  Rice 
who  taught  the  Churches  of  all  denominations  that  it  was  the  great 
office  of  the  Church  itself  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  every  land,  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature. 

To  Dr.  Rice  and  Dr.  Baxter,  of  Lexington,  and  Dr.  Speece,  of 
Augusta,  belong  the  credit  of  the  first  periodica/s  of  religious  literature. 

From  the  sanctified  pens  of  Virginia  Presbyterian  ministers  came 
some  of  the  hymns  which  the  Churches  cannot  and  will  not  forget. 
Samuel  Davies,  in  Hanover,  wrote: 

Lord,  I  am  thine,  entirely  thine, 

and  Conrad  Speece,  of  the  Augusta  Stone  Church,  wrote, 

Blest  Jesus,  when  thy  cross  I  view. 

They  have  gone  out  into  the  hymnology  of  all  English-speaking  and 
English-singing  Christians,  and  are  sung  by  devout  men  and  women 
on  every  shore. 

What  the  Fathers  Brought  and  Won.  A  brave  and  hardy 
people  were  our  fathers.  Leading  their  women  and  children,  they  pene- 
trated the  wilds  of  the  new  continent.  They  felled  the  mighty  forests. 
They  fought  with  beasts.  They  drove  back  the  cruel  and  treacherous 
savage.  They  built  their  first  homes  of  the  trees  they  had  felled, 
and  to  them  they  brought  their  wives  and  little  ones,  their  Bibles  and 
their  Catechisms,  and  little  else  save  their  faith  in  God  and  their 
strong  hearts.  They  builded  log  churches  and  then  log  schools  and 
log  colleges.  They  fought  the  battles  of  the  Revolution.  They  con- 
tended with  proscription  and  intolerance,  for  inalienable  rights,  and 
established  them  forever.     They  founded  a  free  Church  in  a  free  com- 

[291] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,   VA. 


monwealth.  Shall  they  be  forgotten,  the  pioneer  fathers  and  pioneer 
mothers?    Not  while  a  drop  of  honest  and  filial  blood  runs  in  our  veins. 

At  an  unmeasured  cost  they  won  and  gave  to  us  the  liberties 
which  are  our  splendid  inheritance  to-day.  They  gave  us  our  inde- 
pendence of  the  old  countries  and  our  regulated  democracy  and  consti- 
tutional republicanism.  They  gave  us  our  schools  and  institutions  of 
learning.  They  gave  us  our  churches,  and  bequeathed  to  us  a  religion 
whose  strength  is  in  the  authority  of  an  inspired  Bible.  They  taught 
us  that  the  chief  end  of  man  is  to  glorify  God,  and  not  man. 

Let  us  remember  them  with  grateful  affection  and  admiration. 
Let  us  thank  God  for  the  inheritance  they  bought  at  such  supreme 
effort  and  sacrifice  and  peril.  Let  us  be  faithful  to  our  trust,  and 
keep  our  faith  as  a  covenant-keeping  people  with  a  covenant-keeping 
God.  Let  us  ask  for  the  paths  in  which  the  fathers  trod,  "lest  we 
forget."  And  "not  unto  us,  not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  but  unto  thy  name 
be  the  praise  and  the  glory  forever.     Amen!" 


CENTENNIAL  COMMUNION,    BY  REV.   W.    E.    BAKER 

Let  US  now,  as  our  sweetest  service,  exalt  the  name  that  is  above 
every  name. 

Singing— "Jesus,  and  shall  it  ever  be." 

We  are  sometimes  asked  whether  any  will  be  finally  lost.  The 
important  question  is,  whether  any  will  be  finally  saved.  There  was 
not  a  gleam  of  hope  or  light  on  this  subject  in  all  the  world,  until 
God's  purpose  to  save  was  revealed  through  his  holy  apostles  and 
prophets.     Let  us  repeat  and  emphasize  the  glorious  announcement. 

Singing— "There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood." 
Introductory 
"Do  this  in  remembrance  of  me." 

Many  things  might  be  remembered  this  day,  but  nothing  worthy 
to  be  compared  with  the  sufferings  and  death  of  our  blessed  Lord. 
These  occupy  large  space  in  Gospel  record  and  there  is  much  to 
remember.  All  that  came  before  was  preparation  for  conflict  and  all 
that  came  after,  exultation  over  victory. 

The  enemy  in  the  conflict  was  the  wickedness  in  human  nature 
concentrated  and  arrayed  under  the  leadership  of  the  god  of  this 
world.  It  would  never  have  been  believed  that  men  were  so  wicked, 
if  they  had  not  been  left  for  once  to  do  just  as  their  wicked  hearts 
inclined.  They  bound,  mocked,  smote,  spit  upon,  and  crowned  His 
head  with  thorns.     No  one  can  ever  say  that  a  "more  enlightened 

[292] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


people  would  not  have  been  so  cruel,"  for  never  was  there  a  people 
that  exceeded  them  in  Bible-study,  Sabbath  observance,  religious- 
training  and  Church  attendance. 

The  time  set  for  this  conflict  may  be  stated  with  exactness. 

'Twas  on  that  dark,  that  doleful  night. 

When  powers  of  earth  and  hell  arose, 
Against  the  Son  of  God's  delight, 
And  friends  betrayed  him  to  his  foes. 

Pilate  and  Herod,  Jew  and  Gentile  were  thoroughly  united,  and 
evil  was  at  its  strongest.  If  they  couldn't  conquer  Him  then,  no  fear 
that  they  ever  can. 

The  Champion  on  our  side  was  a  new  and  marvelous  personality, 
in  whom  was  centered  whatever  was  highest  in  God,  and  loveliest  in 
man.  He  was  the  seed  of  the  woman  that  was  to  bruise  the  serpent's 
head,  the  star  to  arise  out  of  Jacob.  "Beautiful  morn  star,  by 
prophets  foretold  ;  the  Angel  of  the  Covenant,  who  in  the  old  time  re- 
tained something  of  his  glory,  so  that  when  he  descended  upon  the 
mount  it  quaked  greatly  and  burned  with  devouring  fire,  and  when  he 
appeared  in  the  temple,  its  door  post  moved  at  his  voice.  The  Cham- 
pion laid  aside  His  glory  when  He  became  incarnate;  for  He  never 
could  have  been  arrested  if  the  Father  had  sent  the  more  than  twelve 
legions  of  angels  for  His  protection.  A  hand  able  to  shake  eight 
hundred  thousand  square  miles  of  the  earth's  surface,  as  we  ourselves 
have  seen,  never  could  have  been  nailed  to  the  cross  without  its  own 
consent.  Therefore  He  shrunk  Himself  into  a  helpless  babe  and 
"being  in  the  form  of  God,  He  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with 
God,  but  made  Himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon  Him  the  form 
of  a' servant  and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  men,  and  being  formed  in 
fashion  as  a  man.  He  humbled  Himself,  and  became  obedient  unto 
death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross."  That  divine  glory  should  have 
been  so  completely  hidden  was  a  mystery  indeed. 

'Twas  midnight,  and,  on  Olives'  brow. 
The  Star  was  dimmed  that  lately  shown. 

The  issue  in  the  conflict  was  whether  this  world  should  blacken 
into  a  hell,  or  brighten  into  a  heaven.  Satan,  having  laid  claim  to  it, 
was  bent  on  making  it  like  the  rest  of  his  kingdom,  and  all  wicked 
men  unconsciously  work  for  the  same  end,  being  led  captive  by  him 
at  his  will.  There  have  been  nineteen  great  battles,  each  one  of 
which  has  changed  the  history  of  the  world;  but  these  were  mere 
skirmishes  compared  with  Calvary. 

The  weapons  which  our  Champion  used  were  love  and  mercy. 
It  was  love  and  mercy  against  swords  and  staves.  If  He  could  hold 
out  in  spite  of  everything  they  did  to  provoke  Him,  then  no  one, 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


though  crimson  and  scarlet,  need  ever  fear  to  come  to  Him.  There 
was  a  stupendous  effort  to  conquer  our  rebellious  race  without  display 
of  power  and  it  succeeded. 

The  preparation  necessary  was  obtained  by  prayer. 

'Tis  midnight  in  the  garden  now 
The  suffering  Saviour  prays  alone. 

We  must  remember  that  His  human  nature  involved  human  weak- 
ness. His  hands,  His  feet.  His  muscles.  His  nerves.  His  memory, 
His  reason  were  not  superhuman,  but  just  like  ours,  and  therefore 
under  the  greatness  of  the  strain.  He  was  in  danger  of  collapse,  faint- 
ness,  insensibility,  nervous  prostration,  derangement.  These,  while 
not  sinful,  might  have  destroyed  the  completeness  of  His  victory.  It 
would  not  have  had  a  good  effect,  if  He  had  burst  into  tears  at  sight 
of  Mary,  His  mother,  standing  by  the  cross.  We  sometimes  almost 
lose  control,  and  the  tears  "in  the  voice  break  out  into  an  open  cry," 
but  it  is  weakness.  In  order  to  the  best  impression  Jesus  must  show 
Himself  not  only  loving,  but  strong.  Accordingly  He  gave  Himself 
to  prayer,  and  the  greatest  service  prayer  ever  rendered  was  to  our 
blessed  Lord  in  His  final  struggle.  This  praying  power  did  indeed 
dwindle  into  the  slender  thread  of  "saying  the  same  words,"  but  that 
thread  was  never  broken.  He  might  have  been  caught  asleep  by  the 
betrayers  if  sorrow  had  paralyzed  Him,  as  it  did  the  disciples.  He 
was  able  to  bear  His  cross  for  only  a  little  time,  but  long  enough  to 
fulfill  the  Mosaic  type.  The  crowing  of  the  cock  assisted  Him  in 
remembering  Peter.  Five  timely  words  to  friends  indicated  that  even 
in  the  garden  agony  His  balance  was  maintained.  Nine  answers  to 
enemies  disclosed  His  continued  rationality,  the  closest  logic  appear- 
ing in  every  one  of  them.  Ten  movements  of  the  body  self-supported 
under  chains,  marked  His  escape  from  nervous  prostration.  Seven 
thoughtful  utterances  from  the  cross  made  it  evident  that  He  was  not 
only  conscious,  but  loving  to  the  end;  and  when  He  cried,  "it  is  fin- 
ished," prayer  had  enabled  Him  to  confirm  every  type,  fulfill  every 
prophecy,  perform  every  promise,  remember  every  obligation,  and 
gain  a  perfect  victory. 

We  remember  that  this  conflict  was  voluntary,  and  on  our  behalf. 
He  had  power  to  lay  down  His  life,  and  He  had  power  to  take  it  again. 
The  Good  Shepherd  gave  His  life  for  the  sheep.  "He  saved  others," 
said  His  enemies,  and  they  could  not  deny  it,  for  the  blind,  the  lepers 
and  the  lame  who  had  been  healed,  were  there;  but  they  thought 
they  made  a  good  point  against  Him,  when  they  said  "Himself  He 
cannot  save."  It  was  true,  He  could  not  save  others,  and  at  the 
same  time  save  Himself.     It  was  a  dying  Christ  or  a  lost  world. 

[294] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


We  observe  also  the  occurence  of  the  supernatural  while  the 
struggle  was  going  on.  There  was  prophecy  of  the  betrayal,  and  of 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  The  Roman  veterans  fell  to  the 
ground  when  they  met  Him  at  the  entrance  to  the  garden.  The  ear 
of  Malchus  at  His  touch  was  healed.  The  wife  of  Pilate  was  warned 
in  a  day  dream  to  send  a  message  to  her  husband.  There  was  dark- 
ness over  the  whole  land,  the  earth  shook,  rocks  were  rent,  and 
attendant  priests  and  Levites  saw  the  temple  vail  rent  from  top  to 
bottom.  The  mighty  Maker  was  dying  for  man,  the  creature's  sin. 
It  seemed  as  though  Nature  were  about  to  collapse  under  so  great  a 
strain.  An  event  was  taking  place  almost  too  great  for  so  small  a 
world  as  ours;  certainly  too  great  for  the  appreciation  of  minds  as 
small  as  ours. 

We  notice  the  gleams  of  victory  beginning  to  appear  even  before 
the  darkness  passes  away.  Peter  goes  out  and  weeps  bitterly;  the 
penitent  thief  hears  the  assuring  voice,  '  'This  day  shalt  thou  be  with 
me  in  Paradise";  the  Centurion  and  they  that  were  with  him,  fear 
greatly,  saying  "truly  this  was  the  Son  of  God";  the  multitudes  who 
came  out  to  Calvary,  smote  upon  their  breasts  and  returned.  The 
saving  efficacy  of  the  cross  was  already  working;  the  "Father  forgive 
them"  was  too  much  for  the  hard  hearts  around;  the  "Lord  remember 
me"  awakened  other  thieves  to  prayer;  the  love  of  Jesus  was  proving 
mightier  than  the  soldiers'  spears. 

Forasmuch  therefore  as  ye  are  partakers  of  Christ's  sufferings, 
arm  yourselves  with  the  same  mind.  In  partaking  of  these  elements, 
we  pledge  ourselves  to  share  in  the  Christian  conflict,  and  arm  our- 
selves with  the  weapons  of  the  Prince  of  Peace.  We  too  must  say 
"Father  forgive  them,"  when  they  nail  us  to  the  cross  by  wicked 
scorn.  We  must  endeavor  to  conciliate  those  who  try  to  injure  us,  as 
Jesus  gave  the  sop  to  Judas;  when  the  highwayman  robs  us,  we  are 
to  remind  him  that  the  blood  of  Jesus  cleanseth  from  all  sin;  when 
tempted  to  envy  the  splendors  of  wealth,  we  are  to  consider  how 
"foxes  have  holes  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests,  but  the  Son  of 
man  had  not  where  to  lay  His  head";  and  when  our  bitterest  sorrow 
comes,  we  are  to  exclaim  submissively,  "The  cup  which  my  Father 
hath  given  me,  shall  I  not  drink  it?" 

Distribution  of  the  Bread  and  Wine. 

Let  us  then  shut  the  doors  upon  our  Saviour  and  ourselves,  sing- 
ing the  sacramental  song, 

According  to  thy  gracious  word, 

and  answering  each  one  the  summons  to  discipleship  by  partaking  of 
the  bread  and  wine. 

[295] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

Concluding 

Instead  of  formal  exhortation,  I  propose  at  this  ending  of  our  love 
feast,  to  indulge  in  something  more  familiar. 

Says  the  apostle,  "We  that  are  strong  ought  to  bear  the  infirm- 
ities of  the  weak,  and  not  to  please  ourselves."  It  seems  to  me  that 
you  have  in  an  unusual  measure  obeyed  this  injunction.  The  strong 
among  you  show  consideration  for  the  weak;  and  the  weak  perhaps 
have  been  most  forward  in  their  welcome  to  Him  who  always  took 
their  side,  wherefore  as  ye  have  received  of  us  how  ye  ought  to  walk 
in  this  matter,  we  beseech  you  that  ye  abound  more  and  more. 

And  we  caution  the  weak  not  to  be  too  exacting — too  ready  to 
feel  slighted,  and  to  imagine  that  it  might  be  better  elsewhere. 
There  are  plenty  of  churches  where  all  are  weak,  and  if  you  should 
get  into  one  of  them,  you  would  spend  the  rest  of  your  days  sighing 
after  this  home;  and  your  plaint  would  be  "How  shall  we  sing  the 
Lord's  song  in  a  strange  land?" 

After  long  experience  I  am  convinced  that  the  effects  of  regular 
instruction  and  training  are  better  than  those  of  high-pressure 
methods  in  religion. 

A  temporary  is  not  as  wonderful  as  a  continuous  revival.  Grace 
limited  to  the  individual  is  not  as  impressive  as  grace  transmitted 
from  Father  to  Son,  and  benevolent  impulse  is  not  as  great  a  thing  as 
a  benevolent  character;  and  when  mercy  is  extended  to  a  thousand 
generations  (Deut.  7:  9),  it  is  shown,  beyond  all  contradiction,  to  be 
an  attribute  of  God.  It  is  the  deep  and  permanent  effects  which 
most  glorify  God,  and  over  these  therefore  we  should  specially 
rejoice.  The  successful  revivalist,  though  he  moved  for  a  time  in  a 
whirlwind  of  fire,  is  not  remembered  in  after  years,  as  is  the  success- 
ful pastor. 

Charge  to  Pastor:  Continue  then  my  Brother  to  work  for  the 
Church  in  the  way  of  scripture,  and  of  your  own  convictions,  and  be 
not  disturbed  with  fear,  lest  some  should  be  dissatisfied  with  the 
immediate  results.  And  do  not  use  your  own  standard,  to  measure 
those  who  have  not  had  your  advantages.  It  would  have  greatly 
softened  and  sweetened  my  own  ministry,  if  I  had  learned  that  lesson 
fifty  years  ago. 

Charge  to  Elders:  It  is  your  duty  to  see  that  the  Church  is 
governed  by  sober  opinion,  and  not  by  popular  clamor.  It  takes 
time  for  wounds  to  heal,  and  broken  bones  to  knit.  Church  members 
cannot  be  too  hasty  in  the  use  of  means,  but  they  must  learn  to  be 


[296] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


patient  in  waiting  for  results.  It  will  not  do  for  every  one  in  the 
congregation  to  think  and  speak  and  act  as  they  please.  Wreck  has 
often  come  from  the  want  of  a  firm  and  intelligent  eldership. 

A  word  for  self:  When  I  received  and  accepted  your  invitation  a 
year  ago,  I  resolved  that  I  would  come  not  for  show  or  attention,  but 
that  the  visit  might  afford  opportunity  for  such  a  demonstration  of 
mutual  fellowship  and  love,  as  would  help  the  cause  of  Ood.  The  result 
has  been,  such  quietness  of  mind  and  freedom  from  painful  excite- 
ment as  convinces  me  that  it  would  be  well  for  us  to  order  all  our 
arrangements  for  the  future  with  a  view  to  help  the  cause  of  God. 
After  all  there  is  no  bond  on  earth  like  that  which  unites  the  disciples 
of  Jesus. 

"And  now,  brethren,  I  commend  you  to  God,  and  to  the  word  of 
His  grace,  which  is  able  to  build  you  up,  and  to  give  you  an  inheri- 
tance among  all  them  which  are  sanctified?"  "And  when  he  had 
thus  spoken,  he  kneeled  down  and  prayed  with  them  all,  and  they 
all  wept  sore  and  fell  on  Paul's  neck  and  kissed  him,  sorrowing  most 
of  all  for  the  words  which  he  spake  that  they  should  see  his  face  no 
more." 

We  might  at  this  point  give  way  to  forboding  and  questionings  as 
to  the  future,  but  let  us  rather  dwell  on  present  mercies,  and  end  this 
service  with  a  shout  of  triumph. 

Singing— "O  could  I  speak  the  matchless  worth." 
Benediction. 

BABY  ERSKINE  IN  THE  SOUDAN 
ADDRESS  TO  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL,  BY  THE  REV.  W.  E.  BAKER 

Sunday  School  children  are  apt  to  think  that  they  are  too  little  to 
do  good.  This  is  a  mistake,  for  most  valuable  lessons  have  come  "out 
of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings."  The  baby  Erskine  went  to 
Egypt  when  he  was  only  eight  months  old.  Of  course  his  father  and 
mother  had  to  go  along  to  take  care  of  him.  At  the  farewell  meetings 
before  starting  he  made  the  little  speech  which  he  had  been  taught, 
and  it  was  always  the  same,  "bye,  bye,"  that  was  all  he  said.  They 
crossed  the  broad  Atlantic,  steamed  through  the  straits  of  Gibraltar, 
and  Mt.  ^tna,  as  they  passed,  gave  them  a  grand  display  of  fireworks 
as  a  salute. 

On  the  voyage  the  little  missionary  made  his  first  converts  to  mis- 
sions. A  lady  and  gentleman  on  board,  so  rich  that  they  needed  two 
maids  and  two  valets  to  wait  on  them,  took  a  fancy  to  the  party.  The 
lady  sent  her  maids  away  and  night  and  morning  walked  the  deck 
with  Erskine  in  her  arms.     When  they  reached  Naples,  the  gentleman 

[297] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


said  that  if  they  would  go  with  him  to  Florence  he  would  introduce 
them  to  some  wealthy  Americans,  who  would  probably  do  something 
handsome  for  the  cause.  The  same  God  who  heated  the  volcano  can 
use  an  infant  to  touch  and  warm  the  hearts  of  millionaires. 

When  Erskine  arrived  at  Alexandria  the  kind  missionaries  there 
were  very  glad  to  see  him  and  his  parents.  They  thought  that  he 
looked  very  well;  they  hoped  that  he  would  do  a  great  deal  of  good; 
they  gave  him  some  dates,  just  fresh  from  the  stem.  The  little  fellow 
looked  up  at  them  with  a  smile,  took  the  dates  and  said,  "Ta,  Ta." 

On  the  way  up  the  Nile,  Erskine  continued  to  make  himself  useful. 
An  English  officer  of  high  rank,  who  occupied  the  best  room  on  the 
little  steamboat,  gave  it  up  to  the  young  mother;  and  this  was  very 
important,  because  the  distance  they  had  to  go  was  as  far  as  from 
New  Orleans  up  the  Mississippi  River  to  St.  Paul;  and  the  sand 
storms  were  often  so  fiery  that  they  couldn't  sit  out  on  deck,  and 
count  the  hippopotami  eating  grass  at  the  edge  of  the  river.  Dolaib 
Hill,  which  was  to  be  their  home  is  near  the  country  where  the  Queen 
of  Sheba  reigned  at  the  time  of  Solomon.  When  they  reached  the 
mission  station  there,  they  were  very  tired,  and  neither  the  trumpet- 
ing of  elephants  or  the  roar  of  an  occasional  lion  could  keep  them 
awake.  Next  morning  there  was  a  stir,  for  the  report  had  gone  out 
of  the  arrival  of  a  white  baby,  the  first  white  baby  the  people  had 
ever  seen,  and  as  much  a  curiosity  among  them  as  a  green  baby  would 
be  among  us.  Soon  visitors  began  to  arrive,  great,  tall  warriors, 
with  their  spears  and  war  clubs,  interested  most  in  Erskine,  who  has 
always  won  them  by  his  fearlessness,  and  who,  as  soon  as  he  had 
learned  to  walk,  to  the  great  distress  of  his  mother,  taught  him  to 
dance,  as  they  didn't  know  any  better  and  never  had  anything  to  wor- 
ship but  a  cow. 

The  baby  Erskine  soon  engaged  in  Sunday  School  work  and  was 
the  main  attraction.  He  had  his  discouragements  however;  one  boy 
would  stay  away  and  was  eaten  up  by  a  crocodile,  but  the  poor  mother 
was  quickly  consoled  by  the  present  of  a  remnant  of  bright  calico;  the 
calico  was  very  bright  and  the  boy  was  a  bad  boy  anyhow. 

Erskine's  next  success  was  in  a  sewing  class;  he  would  go  down 
under  a  palm  tree  and  when  the  scholars  gathered,  his  mother  would 
bring  out  the  needles  and  thread.  She  had  received  from  this  country 
a  bolt  of  factory  cloth,  five  cents  a  yard;  and  she  taught  them  to  make 
dresses  for  themselves,  two  yards  each  with  a  little  pink  around  the 
neck;  the  only  trouble  being  that  the  young  ladies  were  so  modest 
that  it  took  them  some  time  to  get  accustomed  to  so  much  finery. 

To  make  a  favorable  impression,  upon  the  people  in  that  country 
it  is  necessary  to  either  fight  them  or  feast  them.     So  the  missionaries 

[298j 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


bought  a  cow,  made  it  into  soup,  filled  all  their  buckets  and  bath  tubs 
and  sent  out  invitations  far  and  wide.  It  was  a  grand  occasion  and 
at  the  close  the  chiefs  all  came  and  acknowledged  that,  for  once,  they 
and  their  dogs  had  had  enough. 

Erskine's  influence  was  not  confined  to  those  of  low  degree.  He 
was  invited  to  the  English  military  station,  six  miles  distant,  queens 
from  Darfur  and  Rordofan  came  to  see  the  "white  child,"  Lords  and 
ladies,  pashas  and  beys,  tied  up  their  Nile  boats  in  front  of  the  house 
and  enjoyed  a  taste  of  American  waffles  and  wafers.  Millionaire 
Hunt  who  wants  to  raise  cotton  in  the  Soudan  offered  to  put  new  roofs 
on  all  the  mission  buildings.  Rothchild,  of  Paris,  and  his  son,  hunting 
in  the  neighborhood,  were  glad  to  rest  there.  And  they  all  left  some- 
thing from  their  stores.  It  seems  to  be  a  Staunton  First  Church 
pound  party  out  there  all  the  time. 

Baby  Erskine  has  had  no  reason  to  complain  of  the  hardships  of 
missionary  Hfe.  He  had  for  a  time  a  namesake  of  the  sister  of  Moses 
to  keep  ofl[  the  scorpions  and  now  a  namesake  of  the  mother  of  Jesus 
takes  care  of  him,  when  there  is  no  princess  to  dandle  him  in  her  arms. 
He  is  now  three  years  old  and  has  learned  three  languages,  the 
English,  the  Arabic  and  the  Shulla  and  can  translate  from  one  to 
another.  He  was  invited  to  tea  at  the  palace  in  Khartum  and  the  Sindar 
would  have  been  delighted  to  play  a  game  of  tennis  with  his  mother, 
if  he  was  not  obliged  just  at  that  time  to  oversee  the  irrigation  of 
several  hundred  square  miles  of  desert;  and  the  general  thought  of 
the  people  is  that  if  such  a  babe  should  be  brought  all  the  way  from 
far  off  America  to  make  them  good  surely  they  ought  to  be  good. 

It  was  supposed  that  if  Baby  Erskine  was  taken  to  the  center  of 
Africa,  he  would  never  be  heard  of  again;  but  how  famous  he  has 
become!  His  picture  appeared  in  the  child's  paper  of  the  American 
Mission  in  Egypt,  was  transferred  to  the  child's  paper  of  the  United 
Presbyterian  Church,  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  the  only  pic- 
ture of  the  annual  report  of  the  board  of  missions  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  that  Church.  Let  us  pray  that  the  little  missionary  may  not  be 
exalted  above  measure.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  he  already  gives  signs 
of  this,  and  recently  when  walking  in  the  great  city  of  Cairo,  he 
stepped  so  high  that  some  one  asked,  "Who  is  that  great  man?"  and 
some  one  answered,  "Why,  that  is  Pasha  Erskine,  son  of  the  princess 
of  Georgia,  who  comes  from  the  great  City  of  Staunton. ' '  (You 
know  the  people  of  that  country  are  very  fond  of  talking  big) , 

You  can  never  begin  too  young  in  doing  good.  There  is  a  sense 
in  which  Egypt  can  now  be  called  a  Christian  country.  Fifty  years 
ago  only  armed  parties  could  visit  the  Soudan,  now  the  savages  have 
learned  that  Christian  government  is  friendly  and  honest,  and  the  un- 

[299] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


armed  missionary  with  his  wife  and  child,  can  travel  for  two  thousand 
miles,  from  one  end  of  the  land  to  the  other,  in  perfect  safety.  It 
has  been  discovered  in  that  land  that  Christianity  teaches  better 
morals  than  Mohammedanism,  and  that  is  more  merciful  to  women  and 
children.  The  word  of  God  is  there,  and  every  inhabitant  can  get  ac- 
cess to  it. 


CLOSING  SERMON,  BY  REV.  W.  W.  MOORE,  D.  D. 

Micah  VI:  8.  "What  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee  but  to  do  justly 
and  to  love  mercy  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God  ?  " 

In  the  rotunda  of  the  Congressional  Library  at  Washington  stand 
eight  colossal  and  stately  statues  which  represent  Commerce,  History, 
Art,  Philosophy,  Poetry,  Law,  Science  and  Religion,  each  accompanied 
by  a  choice  extract  from  some  masterpiece  of  literature  descriptive  of 
that  particular  sphere  of  thought  or  endeavor.  Above  the  noble  figure 
which  represents  Religion,  and  which  grasps  in  her  right  hand  her 
illuminating  torch,  is  inscribed  this  lofty  sentiment  from  the  prophecy 
of  Micah  which  I  have  selected  for  our  text  this  evening.  It  is  the 
culmination  of  the  glory  of  the  National  Library.  There,  high  above 
all  the  deeds  that  men  have  done,  and  all  the  books  that  men  have 
written,  runs  this  immortal  line  from  the  Book  which  God  has  written, 
"What  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee  but  to  do  justly  and  to  love 
mercy  and  walk  humbly  with  thy  God."  True  watchword  of  all  real 
progress.  True  climax  of  all  human  glory.  It  is  the  fitting  crown  of 
all  that  beauty  and  strength  and  truth.  It  will  stand  as  long  as  the 
great  building  stands,  proclaiming  to  the  nation  that  which  makes  in- 
dividuals great  and  peoples  enduring  ;  nay,  it  will  stand  for  millions  of 
years  after  the  Congressional  Library  has  crumbled  to  dust,  as  long 
as  the  Universe  of  God  shall  endure  that  truth  will  stand,  proclaiming 
its  sublime  evangel  of  morality,  benevolence  and  piety,  and  urging 
these  commonplace  virtues  which  are  behind  all  real  greatness,  as 
cause  is  behind  effect,  and  ranking  faith  in  God  and  righteousness  of 
life  above  material  gain  and  temporal  prosperity  and  intellectual 
achievements.  It  is  a  good  thing,  my  brethren,  and  a  thing  for  which 
thoughtful  men  may  feel  thankful,  to  have  the  paramount  importance 
of  Religion  among  all  human  interest  thus  conspicuously  recognized 
and  recorded  in  the  noblest  building  ever  erected  by  a  great  people  ; 
for  it  is  a  thing  which  prosperous  nations  are  prone  to  forget. 

If  you  have  ever  approached  one  of  the  old  Cathedral  towns  of 
Europe  from  a  distance,  if,  for  instance,  you  have  ever  come  down 
the  Rhine  on  the  steamer  towards  Cologne,  or  traveled  through  the 
long  levels  of  Eastern  England  towards  Lincoln,  you  will  recall  how 

[300] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


completely  the  Cathedral  dominates  the  City.  "The  first  object  you 
catch  sight  of  as  you  approach  is  the  spire  tapering  into  the  sky,  or  the 
huge  towers  holding  possession  of  the  center  of  the  landscape,  majesti- 
cally beautiful,  imposing  by  mere  size  among  the  large  forms  of  nature 
herself.  As  you  go  nearer,  the  vastness  of  the  building  impresses 
you  more  and  more,  the  puny  dwellings  of  the  citizens  creep  at  its 
feet,  the  pinnacles  are  glittering  in  the  tints  of  the  sunset,  when 
down  below  among  the  streets  and  lanes  the  twilight  is  darkening. 
And  even  now,  when  the  towns  are  thrice  their  ancient  size,  and  the 
houses  have  stretched  upward  from  two  stories  to  five,  when  the 
great  chimneys  are  vomiting  their  smoke  among  the  clouds,  and  the 
temples  of  modern  industry,  the  workshops  and  factories  spread  their 
long  fronts  before  the  eye,  the  Cathedral  is  still  the  governing  form 
in  the  picture,  the  one  object  which  possesses  the  imagination  and  refuses 
to  be  eclipsed."  This  pre-eminence  of  the  house  of  God  among  the 
houses  of  men  is  but  the  medieval  symbol  and  expression  of  the 
dominance  and  supereminence  of  religion  among  all  other  human 
interests.  If  that  be  its  proper  place,  then  it  is  of  the  utmost  import- 
ance to  know  what  religion  is. 

What  do  the  Scriptures  principally  teach?  The  Scriptures  princi- 
pally teach  what  man  is  to  believe  concerning  God,  and  what  duty  God 
requires  of  man.  Accordingly  the  two  great  outstanding  doctrines  of 
the  Bible  are  the  spirituality  of  God  and  the  spirituality  of  Religion, 
and  the  two  great  corruptions  to  which  all  religion  is  exposed  are  Idol- 
latry  and  Formalism.  The  tendency  to  substitute  images  in  the  place 
of  God,  and  rites  in  the  place  of  righteousness.  The  necessity  of  some 
forms  of  worship  for  creatures  of  sense  makes  such  a  substitution  pos- 
sible, the  overestimate  of  such  forms  makes  it  certain.  God  met  Israel's 
need  of  some  outward  forms  of  worship  by  ordaining  the  Levitical 
ritual ;  but  in  doing  so  He  was  careful  to  guard  against  the  abuse  of 
these  forms,  and  an  exaggerated  estimate  of  their  value.  When  He 
gave  them  the  Tabernacle,  with  its  symbolic  expression  of  the  terms 
and  forms  of  their  communion  with  Him,  He  gave  them  also  the  Moral 
Law  with  its  requirement  in  the  first  table  of  a  spiritual  worship  of 
God  alone  without  images,  and  with  its  requirement  in  the  second  table 
of  righteousness  in  all  the  relations  existing  between  man  and  man. 
When  in  the  time  of  David  the  ark  was  brought  up  to  Jerusalem, 
and  the  ritual  of  divine  worship  was  established  anew,  the  two  Psalms 
written  on  that  occasion,  the  fifteenth  and  twenty-fourth,  both  taught 
the  futility  of  ritual  without  righteousness.  "Lord,  who  shall  abide 
in  thy  tabernacle;  who  shall  dwell  in  thy  Holy  hill?  He  that  walketh 
uprightly  and  worketh  righteousness  and  speaketh  the  truth  in  his 
heart." 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,    STAUNTON,  VA. 

But,  notwithstanding  all  these  precautions,  the  theory  of  rites 
versus  righteousness  prevailed  in  Israel.  Religion  degenerated  into 
religiosity.  The  people  contented  themselves  with  the  punctilious 
observance  of  the  forms  of  worship,  the  ablutions,  the  sacrifices,  the 
festivals,  while  their  lives  were  full  of  wickedness.  The  priests 
themselves  in  many  cases  yielded  to  and  encouraged  this  divorce  of 
morality  from  religion.  It  was  one  of  the  great  works  of  the  pro- 
pWetic  order  to  protest  against  this  gross  misconception  of  religion,  to 
insist  upon  the  inseparable  union  of  true  religion  and  true  morality, 
and  to  assert  the  supremacy  of  the  moral  and  spirituals  above  the 
literal  and  ceremonial  elements  of  religion.  Listen  to  them  one  after 
another.  Samuel:  "Behold,  to  obey  is  better  than  sacrifice  and  to 
hearken  than  the  fat  of  rams."  Jehovah  says  through  Hosea:  "I 
desired  mercy  and  not  sacrifice. "  Through  Amos  he  says:  "I  hate 
your  feast  days.  Though  ye  offer  me  burnt  offerings  I  will  not  accept 
them.  But  let  justice  run  down  as  waters,  and  righteousness  as  a 
mighty  stream."  To  the  same  effect  also  he  speaks  through  Isaiah 
(1:13-17)  and  Ezekiel  (XVIII:  5-9)  and  in  like  manner  through  the 
Psalmists  (LI:  16-17)  and  the  wise  men  (Prov.  XV:  8;  XXI:  3).  So  here 
Micah  represents  an  inquirer  as  saying,  *  'Wherewith  shall  I  come  before 
the  Lord  and  bow  myself  before  the  high  God?  Shall  I  come  before 
him  with  burnt  offerings,  with  calves  of  a  year  old?  Will  the  Lord  be 
pleased  with  thousands  of  rams,  or  with  ten  thousands  of  rivers  of 
oil?  Shall  I  give  my  first  born  for  my  transgression,  the  fruit  of  my 
body  for  the  sin  of  my  soul?  He  hath  shewed  thee,  0  man,  what  is 
good,  and  what  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee  but  to  do  justly  and  to 
love  mercy  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God?"  So  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament, Christ's  warnings  are  largely  against  the  ceremonial  nar- 
rowness of  the  Pharisees  and  the  ostentatious  religionism  which 
ignored  justice  and  mercy.  The  apostle  Paul  says:  "I  beseech  you 
therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God  that  ye  present  your  bodies 
a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  to  God,  which  is  your  spiritual 
service."  No  more  dead  sacrifices.  Religion  is  the  surrender  of  the 
will  and  the  life  to  God. 

The  world  can  never  overestimate  its  debt  to  that  great  prophetic 
order  which  was  crowned  in  Christ  and  is  continued  as  to  this  particu- 
lar function  in  all  true  ministers  of  His  Gospel  till  the  end  of  time.  If 
you  would  estimate  aright  the  value  of  the  Christian  ministry  and  of 
the  work  which  they  have  done  among  you  for  the  last  hundred  years 
in  this  community  and  through  this  church,  then  do  not  forget  that,  at 
least  as  to  this  function,  they  are  the  continuators  of  that  great  order 


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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


of  the  prophets.  They  are  called  not  to  merely  ritual  acts  but  to 
teach  and  instruct,  to  hold  before  the  people  a  worthy  conception  of 
religion  and  a  lofty  ideal  of  life. 

I  repeat  it  is  a  good  thing  to  have  the  prophetic  conception  of 
religion  as  against  the  priestly  exalted  before  the  view  of  our  people 
in  our  national  library;  and  it  might  have  been  done  with  even  more 
emphasis  and  effect. 

What  then  is  it  that  God  requires  of  men  above  all  else?  To 
acquire  learning?  To  attain  renown?  To  accumulate  wealth?  To 
multiply  and  observe  the  outward  forms  of  rehgion?  Nay,  "He  hath 
shewed  thee,  0  man,  what  is  good;  and  what  doth  the  Lord  require  of 
thee  but  to  do  justly  and  to  love  mercy  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy 
God?" 

I.  God  requires  us  to  do  justly.  That  means  to  do  right,  to 
observe  the  second  table  of  the  law,  to  refrain  from  injuring  others 
by  word  or  deed  in  their  persons,  honor,  estates  or  good  name,  to  be 
kind,  chaste,  honest  and  truthful.  Ruskin  says,  "Do  justice  to  your 
brother  (you  can  do  that,  whether  you  love  him  or  not)  and  you  will 
come  to  love  him.  But  do  injustice  to  him  because  you  don't  love 
him,  and  you  will  come  to  hate  him."  For,  it  is  not  enough  to  do 
right.  It  is  not  enough  to  be  strong.  Steel  is  strong,  but  it  is  also 
cold  and  hard.  Warmth  and  tenderness  are  needed.  And  so  we 
come  to  the  next  requirement. 

II.  Love  mercy.  Mercy  is  compassion,  forebearance,  forgive- 
ness, love,  helpfulness.  It  is  the  doing  of  acts  of  kindness  willingly, 
cheerfully  and  without  expectation  of  recompense.  It  is  hfe  thinking, 
toiling,  suffering  for  others.  And  it  is  this  that  sweetens  and 
enriches  the  nature  and  makes  it  attractive.  Jesus  Christ  did  justly. 
No  false  or  impure  word  ever  crossed  His  lips,  no  unkind  or  dishonest 
act  ever  stained  His  life,  no  evil  thought  or  purpose  ever  found 
lodgment  in  His  heart.  But  this  moral  supremacy  is  not  the  whole 
secret  of  His  power.  It  is  His  mercy  that  makes  Him  the  irresisti- 
ble magnet  of  men. 

But  not  yet  is  our  definition  of  religion  complete.  We  are  to  do 
justly  and  to  love  mercy,  we  are  to  obey  our  consciences  and  love  our 
neighbors,  we  are  to  be  true  to  ourselves  and  to  our  fellow  men, 
but  is  that  all?  Does  rehgion  look  only  outward,  on  the  plane  of  a 
common  humanity?  Nay,  it  looks  also  upward.  More  fundamental 
than  obedience  to  our  conscience  and  mercy  to  our  fellow  men  is  faith 
in  God.     Do  justly,  love  mercy,  and 

III.  Walk  humbly  with  thy  God.  To  walk  with  God  is  to  have 
Him  for  our  companion,  to  trust  Him  and  love  Him.  In  short  it  is 
what  the  New  Testament  writers  call  Faith.     Justice  and  Mercy  in 

[303] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


God's  sense  are  impossible  without  this.     The  ancient  doge  of  Venice 
was    right  when    he  built  St.    Mark's  Cathedral    and   the   Palace    of 
Justice  side  by  side.     Religion  and  morality  are  inseparable.     One  is 
the  root,  the  other  is  the  fruit.     In   a  recent  controversy  with  Mr. 
Gladstone  the  late  Prof.  Huxley  expressed  great  admiration  for  this 
noble  definition  of  religion  by  Micah,  and  yet  it  is  evident  that  he 
took  no  account  of  the  last  and  greatest  element  in  that  definition, 
faith   in  God.      '  'While  he  admits    that  religion  has  done  much  to 
elevate  human  conduct,  he  thinks  that  human  conduct  may  now  be 
safely  trusted  to  go  on  by  itself  in  moral  evolution  without  any  further 
interference  of  the  idea  of  God  at  all.     Is  that  what  you  think?    Does 
the  ship  go  on  when  the  fires  in  the  engine  room  are  put  out?     No 
more  will  human  conduct  go  on  when  the  noble  impulse  of  personal 
relationship  to  God  is  quenched.     When  the  fires  in  the  engine  room 
are  put  out,  the  ship  swings  hither  and  thither  in  the  trough  of  the 
sea,   and  it  is  drifted  by  the  tide  or  it  founders  in  the  tempest;  and 
human  conduct  founders  when  the  soul  of  man  is  bereft  of  God." 
The  individual  exceptions  which  may  be  cited  of  men  who  have  con- 
tinued to  live  correctly  after  throwing  over  their  faith  in  God  are  only 
apparent.     They  are  only  what  Mr.  Balfour  has  called  spiritual  para- 
sites who  live  upon  the  enormous  mass  all  about  us  of  religious  feel- 
ing and  religious  conviction.     But  the  parasite  dies  when  the  larger 
growth  from  which  it  has  drawn  its  life  is  destroyed.     The  Christian 
faith   is  the   life  breath  of   morality  and   philanthropy.     This  is  no 
merely  professional  and  ministerial  view.     James  Russell  Lowell,  in 
an  address  following  a  noted  infidel,  said:     "When  the  microscopic 
search  of  skepticism,  which  has  hunted  the  heavens  and  sounded  the 
seas  to  disprove  the  existence  of  a  Creator,  has  turned  its  attention 
to  human   society  and  has  found  a   place  on  this  planet  ten  miles 
square  where  a  decent  man  can  live  in  decency,  comfort  and  security, 
supporting  and  educating    his  children  unspoiled   and   unpolluted;  a 
place  where  age  is  reverenced,  infancy  protected,  manhood  respected, 
womanhood    honored,    and    human    life   held    in   due   regard;    when 
skeptics  can  find  such  a  place  ten  miles  square  on  this  globe,  where 
the  Gospel  of  Christ  has  not  gone  and  cleared  the  way,  and  laid  the 
foundations,  and  made  decency  and  security  possible,  it  will  then  be 
in  order  for  the  skeptical  literati  to  move  thither  and  there  ventilate 
their  views.     But  so  long  as  these  very  men  are  dependent  upon  the 
religion  they  discard  for  every  privilege  they  enjoy,  they  may  well 
hesitate  a  little  before  they  seek  to  rob  the  Christain  of  his  hope  and 
humanity  of  its  Saviour,  who  alone  has  given  to  man  that  hope  of 
life  eternal  which  makes  life  tolerable  and  society  possible,  and  robs 
death  of  its  terrors  and  the  grave  of  its  gloom." 

[304] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


The  prophets  insisted  upon  a  reHgion  which  regulated  conduct  as 
distinguished  from  a  mere  religion  of  forms,  but  they  were  as  far  as 
possible  from  teaching  that  conduct  could  be  effectually  regulated  apart 
from  faith  in  God. 

Therefore,  my  brethern,  as  you  have  here  for  a  hundred  years 
steadily  proclaimed  this  religion  of  justice  and  kindliness  grounded  in 
humble  faith  in  God,  and  as  you  have  thus,  along  with  other  Christian 
organizations  of  this  community,  contributed  to  its  growth  that  which 
is  after  all  of  the  most  importance  and  value,  so  hold  on  your  way  for 
the  future,  calling  men  to  the  practice  of  justice  and  the  love  of  mercy 
by  pointing  their  individual  faith  to  the  Holy  and  Merciful  God,  with- 
out whose  favor  no  individual  or  community  can  prosper. 


MRS.  WILLIAM  ELLIOTT  BAKER  (GUEST  OF   HONOR  AT  THE   CENTENNIAL 
CELEBRATION) ,  BY  MRS.  WILLIAM  C.  MARSHALL 

No  history  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  of  Staunton,  would 
be  complete  without  some  account  of  Mrs.  William  E.  Baker,  the  wife 
of  the  beloved  pastor,  who  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  served  it  so  ac- 
ceptably. 

Evelyn  King  Baker  is  the  daughter  of  the  late  Barrington  King 
and  of  his  wife,  Catherine  King,  and  was  born  at  South  Hampton, 
Liberty  County,  Georgia.  When  a  young  child,  her  father,  with  sev- 
eral other  gentlemen  from  the  low  country,  formed  a  colony  and  moved 
from  their  plantations  to  Roswell,  Georgia,  where  they  built  Colo- 
nial homes,  the  most  beautiful  of  which  is  Barrington  Hall,  built  by 
Mr.  King.  This  lovely  home  is  the  only  one  that  is  still  in  the  hands 
of  the  family  who  built  it,  it  being  the  present  home  of  Mrs.  Baker. 
When  a  girl  of  fifteen,  Mrs.  Baker  was  sent  to  a  small  school  in  Guil- 
ford, Connecticut,  where  she  was  educated. 

She  was  the  only  daughter  in  a  family  of  seven  brothers  and  was 
the  companion  and  idol  of  them  all.  Her  early  girlhood  gave  promise 
of  the  lovely  woman  into  which  she  developed,  and  the  influence  of  her 
pious  parents  and  their  Christian  home,  fitted  her  for  the  place  she  so 
ably  filled  as  a  pastor's  wife. 

She  married  Mr.  Baker  when  quite  young  and  went  with  him  to 
Sacramento,  California.  This  was  in  the  days  when  one  had  to  go  by 
water  to  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  thence  up  the  Pacific  to  California. 
They  lived  there  about  a  year,  during  which  time  Mr.  Baker's  minis- 
terial work  was  that  of  a  Missionary,  as  California  was  then  an  un- 
developed state. 

They  returned  to  her  old  home  at  Roswell,  Ga.,  and  from  there 
came  to  Staunton  when  their  first  child,  Kate,  was  an  infant. 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 


Mrs.  Baker  came  with  her  husband  to  Staunton  in  1857  and 
during  the  full  period  their  life  in  this  Church  she  was  ever  the  true 
pastor's  wife.  In  church  work  she  was  a  leading  spirit,  and  a  constant 
inspiration.  In  cases  of  sickness  she  lovingly  administered  and  all  who 
came  under  these  ministrations  give  testimony  of  her  comfort  and 
help. 

To  the  poor  and  needy  she  always  extended  a  helpful  hand  and  her 
tender  sympathy  for  every  sufferer  was  heartfelt  and  sincere.  Her 
broad  hospitality  was  of  the  truest  and  best,  and  her  greeting  to 
strangers  made  each  one  feel  welcome  either  in  her  church  or  home.  In 
her  home  her  devotion  and  affection  were  constancy  itself. 

All  the  children  in  the  congregation  loved  her  dearly  and  the  old 
and  infirm  were  especially  tenderly  cared  for  by  her. 

Mrs.  Baker  is  possessed^of  graces  that  give  her  prominence  any- 
where, and  her  strong  personality  and  gracious  manner  win  for  her 
the  love  and  honor  of  all. 

She  now  lives  in  the  old  home  at  Roswell,  Georgia,  and  is  happy 
in  having  with  her  her  daughter,  Kate  and  family,  Mrs.  Carolus  Simp- 
son, who  live  with  her  there.  This  dear  home  is  often  filled  with  her 
children  and  grandchildren,  and  all  the  dear  friends  are  there  accorded 
the  warm  welcome  they  always  received  at  her  hands  at  the  Manse 
in  Staunton. 


1306] 


CHAPTER  XVII 

A  SERMON  PREACHED  BY  THE  PASTOR,  REV.  A.  M.  ERASER, 
D.  D.,  SUNDAY,  NOVEMBER  6,  1904,  AS  A  CONCLU- 
SION OF  THE  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION 

'  'Give  ear,  0  Shepherd  of  Israel,  thou  that  leadest  Joseph 
like  a  flock;  thou  that  divellest  betiueen  the  cherubims,  shine 
forth.  Before  Ephraim,  and  Benjamin  and  Manasseh, 
stir  up  thy  strength,  and  come  and  save  us. 

Turn  us  again,  0  God,  and,  cause  thy  face  to  shine, 
and  we  shall  be  saved. "— Ps.  LXXX  :  1,  2,  3. 

THE  explanation  of   this  beautiful  but  peculiar  lan- 
guage is  found  in  the  description  which  Moses  gives 
us  of  the  order  of  arrangement  of  the  Israelites  in 
their  company  in  the  wilderness.     Whenever  Israel  broke 
camp  and  set  forth  upon  a  journey,  the  spectacle  was 
interesting  and  imposing  in  the  highest  degree. 

While  they  were  in  camp,  *  'the  tabernacle  of  the  con- 
gregation" was  set  in  the  center  of  the  host.  One-third 
of  the  space  within  the  tabernacle  was  partitioned  off  by 
costly  curtains,  to  be  reserved  as  the  holiest  spot  among 
all  the  religious  places  of  Israel.  Within  that  holy  of 
holies,  there  was  complete  darkness,  and  there  was  but 
one  object  of  furniture,  "the  ark  of  the  covenant."  The 
ark  was  built  of  the  costliest  wood  and  overlaid  with  gold. 
Covering  the  ark  was  the  golden  mercy  seat,  out  of  the 
ends  of  which  rose  the  golden  cherubim  which  over- 
shadowed it.  The  special  dwelling  place  of  God  in  Israel 
was  the  mercy  seat  between  the  cherubim.  Only  one  man 
could  enter  that  holy  of  holies  except  on  the  extraordinary 
occasions,  to  which  I  will  presently  allude.     That  man  who 

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FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA, 

was  permitted  to  enter  was  the  High  Priest.  He  could 
enter  but  once  a  year  and  then  he  must  approach  with  the 
blood  and  smoking  incense  of  atonement  in  his  hands. 

Immediately  around  the  Tabernacle  was  encamped 
the  tribe  of  Levi.  That  tribe  had  been  separated  from 
the  twelve  tribes  and  set  apart  exclusively  to  religious 
duties.  They  were  not  subject  to  military  duty  and  they 
had  no  inheritance  of  lands  among  the  other  tribes. 
When  that  tribe  was  withdrawn  from  the  twelve,  there 
were  only  eleven  left,  and  in  order  to  restore  the  comple- 
ment of  twelve  tribes,  the  tribe  of  Joseph  was  divided  into 
two.  Joseph  had  two  sons,  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  and 
these  two  sons  were  made  co-ordinate  in  rank  with  the 
sons  of  Jacob,  and  their  descendants  were  tribes  of  equal 
rank  with  the  other  tribes.  These  twelve  tribes  were 
arranged  in  the  camp  around  the  tabernacle  in  the  form 
of  a  Greek  cross,  or  St.  George's  cross.  We  may  describe 
the  figure  as  a  square  cross,  that  is,  a  cross  whose  two 
beams  are  of  equal  size  and  cross  each  other  at  right 
angles  in  the  middle,  bringing  the  whole  cross  within  the 
perimeter  of  a  square.  In  order  to  effect  this  arrange- 
ment the  twelve  tribes  were  divided  into  four  groups  of 
three  each.  To  the  east  of  the  tabernacle  were  the  tribes 
of  Judah,  Issachar  and  Zebulun  called  for  convenience  by 
the  name  of  the  leading  tribe,  "The  host  of  Judah."  On 
the  south  were  the  tribes  of  Reuben,  Simeon  and  Gad,  called, 
*  'The  host  of  Reuben. ' '  On  the  west  were  the  three  tribes  of 
Ephraim  and  Benjamin,  and  Manasseh,  called,  "The  host 
of  Ephraim,"  and  sometimes,  "The  host  of  Joseph," 
because  Ephraim  and  Manasseh  were  the  sons  of  Joseph, 
and  Benjamin  being  the  younger  brother  of  Joseph,  it 
was  proper  to  include  him  in  Joseph's  household.  On  the 
north  were  the  tribes  of  Dan,  Asher  and  Naphthali, 
known  as,  "The  host  of  Dan." 

When  the  time  came  to  break  up  their  camp  and  begin 
a  march,  God  gave   the  signal  by  the  removal  of  that 

[308] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,   VA. 

luminous  cloud  which  rested  on  the  roof  of  the  tabernacle 
and  between  the  cherubims,  to  a  position  in  front  of  the 
host  of  Judah,  and  by  its  assuming  the  form  of  a  pillar  of 
luminous  cloud  by  day  and  a  pillar  of  fire  by  night.  When 
that  signal  was  given,  Aaron  and  his  sons  went  into  the 
holy  of  holies  took  down  the  costly  curtains  which  sepa- 
rated it  from  the  rest  of  the  tabernacle  and  threw  them 
over  the  ark  and  the  cherubim.  Costly  furs  were  thrown 
over  these  and  over  the  whole  was  cast  a  cloth  of  solid 
blue.  Then  the  golden  candlestick,  the  golden  altar  of  in- 
cense, the  table  of  shew  bread,  the  altar  of  burnt  offering, 
were  covered  in  a  similar  manner,  but  with  clothes  of  dif- 
ferent colors.  The  hangings  of  the  tabernacle  and  of  the 
court  were  taken  down  and  reverently  packed  and  then  all 
the  wooden  and  metal  parts.  The  tribe  of  Levi  was  then 
summoned  in  different  sections  and  to  each  man  was  ap- 
pointed some  part  of  the  sacred  burden  to  bear.  When  all 
these  preparations  were  complete,  all  eyes  were  directed 
to  the  pillar  of  cloud,  and  it  moved  off  followed  by  the 
whole  host.  As  Ephraim,  Benjamin  and  Manasseh  were 
the  last  of  the  tribes,  bringing  up  the  rear,  all  of  this 
splendid  scene  was  enacted  in  full  view  of  them.  The 
moving  column  followed  quietly  by  the  host,  would  remind 
an  eastern  man  of  the  movements  of  a  flock  of  sheep. 
There  the  shepherd  does  not  go  behind  his  sheep  and  drive 
them,  but  he  goes  before  them.  He  calls  them  and  they 
know  his  voice  and  follow  him.  They  move  gently,  do- 
cilely, slowly,  as  their  nature  is,  and  if  one  is  injured  the 
shepherd  quietly  lifts  it  to  a  place  in  his  bosom,  and  the 
flock  moves  on  without  interruption  to  new  pastures.  In 
view  of  these  facts,  does  it  not  seem  clear  that  the  psalm- 
ist had  these  facts  in  mind  when  he  wrote  this  prayer  ? 
"  Give  ear  0  Shepherd  of  Israel,  thou  that  leadest  Joseph 
like  a  flock :  thou  that  dwellest  between  the  cherubim 
shine  forth.  Before  Ephraim  and  Benjamin  and  Manasseh 
stir  up  thy  strength  and  come  and  save  us." 

[309] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

When  everything  was  ready  for  the  march  and  all  stood 
looking  for  the  signal  to  move,  as  the  pillar  of  cloud  moved 
off,  Moses,  as  majestic  a  man  as  ever  sculptor  conceived 
him,  called  aloud  with  that  clarion  voice  that  so  often  spoke 
to  the  multitude,  "Let  God  arise,  let  his  enemies  be 
scattered,"  words  that  were  afterwards  made  the  founda- 
tion of  one  of  the  most  spirited  of  all  the  Psalms,  the  one 
David  composed  at  the  return  of  the  Ark  from  captivity. 
The  Puritans  were  well  versed  in  the  scriptures,  especially 
certain  parts  of  them  and  were  filled  with  their  spirit.  It  is 
said  that  while  Cromwell  stood  watching  the  battle  of 
Dunbar,  and  saw  the  enemy  begin  to  yield  before  his  in- 
vincibles,  with  nostrils  distended  and  eyes  dilated,  and  a 
face  aflame  with  the  enthusiasm  of  genius  and  religious 
zeal,  he  exclaimed  "They  fly,  they  fly,  I  protest  they  fly, 
'Let  God  arise,  let  his  enemies  be  scattered,'  " 

When  Asaph,  the  writer  of  this  psalm  lived,  Israel  had 
fallen  on  evil  days.  The  people  had  forgotten  the  sover- 
eignty of  God  and  all  the  claims  of  God:  they  had  forgotten 
the  Almighty  power  of  God,  the  holiness  of  God,  and  all 
His  wonderful  goodness.  They  were  immersed  in  shock- 
ing idolatries,  loathsome  immoralities,  self-indulgence, 
oppression,  cruelty  and  the  perversion  of  justice.  It  was 
the  age  of  mighty  prophets,  preachers  of  righteousness, 
who  were  sent  forth  by  God  to  call  the  nation  back  to  the 
worship  of  Jehovah,  Some  of  them  pleaded  with  the  in- 
vitations of  divine  mercy,  some  of  them  wept  over  the  im- 
pending doom,  and  some  thundered  the  terrors  of  the  law. 
Asaph  was  one  of  the  faithful  few,  one  of  the  seven 
thousand  who  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal,  In  his 
prayers  he  had  found  many  an  argument  in  the  promises 
of  God  and  many  a  plea  in  the  stories  of  God's  dealings 
with  Israel  in  the  past.  Here  he  pleads  with  God  by  his 
wonderful  revelation  of  his  power  and  grace  and  glory  to 
Israel  in  their  journeys  and  asks  that  Jehovah  will  reveal 
Himself  again  as  he  had  done  in  the  olden  time.     Once 

[310] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,    STAUNTON,  VA. 

more  give  ear,  0  shepherd  of  Israel,  Thou  that  dwellest 
between  the  cherubim  once  more  shine  forth.  Once  more 
stir  up  thy  strength  before  Ephraim,  Benjamin  and 
Manasseh  and  come  and  save  us. 

Our  Church  is  now  entering  upon  a  new  century.  For 
all  practical  purposes,  this  may  be  regarded  as  the  first 
Sabbath  of  a  new  century,  for  on  last  Sabbath  we  cele- 
brated the  centennial  of  the  organization  of  our  Church. 
I  propose  the  prayer  in  our  text  as  a  suitable  one  with 
which  to  begin  the  century.  Our  circumstances  are  not  in 
all  respects  like  those  of  Israel  that  caused  the  psalmist  to 
compose  the  Psalm,  but  the  prayer  itself  is  appropriate. 
It  is  not  too  fanciful  to  say  we  have  been  camping  on  the 
border  line  between  the  centuries,  as  we  paused  in  our 
celebration  to  rest,  to  review,  to  worship,  to  be  grateful 
and  to  forecast  the  future.  As  we  take  up  our  journey 
anew  to-day,  let  us  cry,  '  'Give  ear,  0  Shepherd  of  Israel, 
thou  that  leadest  Joseph  like  a  flock;  thou  that  dwellest 
between  the  cherubim  shine  forth.  Before  Ephraim  and 
Benjamin  and  Manasseh  stir  up  thy  strength  and  come 
and  save  us.  Turn  us  again  0  God  and  cause  thy  face  to 
shine  and  we  shall  be  saved."  "Let  God  arise,  let  his 
enemies  be  scattered." 

As  we  this  day  pass  over  into  the  new  century  we 
might  take  up  for  ourselves  the  sentiment  of  Jacob  when 
he  crossed  the  Jordan  after  his  long  sojourn  in  Padan 
Aram,  "With  my  staff  I  passed  over  this  Jordan;  and  now 
I  am  become  two  bands."  A  hundred  years  ago  this 
Church  had  a  small  membership,  but  since  that  time  hun- 
dreds have  passed  this  way  in  their  pilgrimage  heaven- 
ward. And  to-day  hundreds  here  and  elsewhere,  in  our 
mission  fields,  at  home  and  abroad  are  enjoying  the  minis- 
trations of  the  Gospel  as  dispensed  by  this  Church.  By 
the  intelligence  and  piety  and  high  character  of  many  of 
the  members  of  this  Church  it  has  occupied  a  position  of 
commanding  eminence.     It  has  been  a  power  for  conser- 

[311] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

vatism  and  soberness  in  religion  and  for  intelligent  and 
earnest  godliness,  and  it  has  exerted  an  influence  of  the 
most  powerful  and  wholesome  kind  upon  the  community. 
It  is  right  for  us  to  ask  ourselves,  whether  we  exhibit 
to-day  the  same  degree  of  consecration  that  our  forefathers 
did,  from  which  all  these  results  have  flowed  and  whether 
a  hundred  years  from  to-day  the  results  of  our  steward- 
ship will  be  as  great  in  proportion.  The  only  answer 
which  will  satisfy  our  hearts  is  to  make  the  prayer  of 
Asaph.  Let  us  analyze  this  prayer  and  learn  the  lessons 
it  contains: 

I.  It  sets  Salvation  before  us  as  an  object  of  the 
greatest  importance  to  be  desired.  "Give  ear,  0  Shepherd 
of  Israel"  and  for  what  purpose?  "Thou  that  dwellest  be- 
tween the  cherubim  shine  forth,"  and  why?  "Before 
Ephraim  and  Benjamin  and  Manasseh  stir  up  thy 
strength"  and  wherefore?  The  answer  to  each  of  these 
questions  is,  "Come  and  save  us."  "Turn  us  again,  0 
God;  and  cause  thy  face  to  shine,"  and  to  what  intent? 
"And  we  shall  be  saved." 

This  sets  the  subject  of  salvation  before  us  in  the  clear- 
est outline  and  with  the  most  solemn  emphasis.  Our 
Church  membership  means  nothing  to  us  if  we  are  not 
saved.  The  only  thing  that  distinguishes  the  church  from 
other  organizations  of  men,  and  the  only  thing  which  en- 
titles it  to  live,  is  that  it  always  conveys  salvation  to  men. 
Let  nothing  obscure  this  great  truth,  that  the  object  of  all 
our  church  life  and  activity  is  to  obtain  salvation  for  our- 
selves and  others.  Of  course  there  are  other  benefits  de- 
rived from  the  Church  but  they  are  all  incidental  to  the 
main  benefit  of  the  redemption  of  souls  from  sin. 

The  Church  may  be  regarded  as  a  great  social  organi- 
zation. It  is  an  institution  in  which  kindred  spirits  find 
congenial  intercourse,  and  those  who  have  had  fewer  so- 
cial advantages  are  developed  and  refined.  The  assembling 
for  public  worship;  the  private  meetings  to  plan  for  the 

[312] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

work  of  the  Church,  gratify  the  social  nature  of  man.  But 
even  when  it  has  accomphshed  the  utmost  good  it  can,  as  a 
refining  agency,  if  it  does  no  more,  it  has  come  infinitely 
short  of  the  mission  for  which  the  Lord  ordained  it.  Again, 
the  Church  has  been  a  great  educator.  For  centuries  it  was 
the  custodian  and  disseminator  of  learning. 

There  is  not  the  same  need  for  it  in  that  capacity  to- 
day, but  still  it  has  not  lost  its  prestige  as  the  greatest 
patron  of  learning.  But  all  its  magnificent  work  of  edu- 
cation is  a  trifling  incident,  as  compared  with  the  greater 
work  which  God  has  made  it  to  do  for  men.  The  Church 
is  a  great  philanthropic  institution.  It  binds  up  the 
broken-hearted  and  proclaims  liberty  to  the  captives  and 
the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that  are  bound.  It 
founds  hospitals  for  the  sick  and  the  maimed,  homes  for 
the  incurables  and  the  infirm  and  asylums  for  the  deficient 
and  the  unfortunate.  It  goes  into  the  home  and  teaches  the 
art  of  living  and  elevates  the  material  environment  of 
life.  But  with  all  of  this,  it  has  sadly  missed  its  mission, 
if  all  of  its  activity  terminates  on  the  present  life  of  man. 
Again,  the  Church  is  a  great  moral  force.  It  creates 
a  public  opinion  and  puts  a  premium  upon  virtue  and 
frowns  upon  vice,  taking  the  place  in  a  large  measure  of 
police  regulations.  But  if  the  Church  does  no  more  than 
all  these  combined  it  has  fallen  short  of  the  work  for 
which  God  intended  it.  It  reminds  one  of  the  comparison 
made  by  the  distinguished  preacher  on  last  Sunday  night. 
The  prisoner  has  made  a  ladder  to  scale  the  walls  of  his 
prison,  and  it  is  good  and  substantial  as  far  as  it  goes,  but 
it  fails  to  reach  the  top  of  the  wall.  If  religion  does  not 
save  the  soul  it  fails  to  do  its  proper  work.  '  'What  will 
it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his 
own  soul?"  What  will  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  all  the 
social  refinement  and  the  wealth  and  fame,  and  learning 
and  health  and  good  morals  and  then  lose  his  own  soull 
If  in  the  midst  of  all  this,  the  summons  should  come, 

[313] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

"This  night  shall  thy  soul  be  required  of  thee;  then  whose 
shall  those  things  be  which  thou  hast  provided?"  It  would 
fill  the  soul  with  consternation.  No,  what  man  needs  is 
the  rescue  of  his  soul  from  sin.  He  is  lost  and  he  needs 
salvation.  He  needs  to  be  put  in  a  right  relation  with 
God.  He  needs  to  have  his  sins  forgiven,  to  be  restored 
to  the  loving  favor  of  God,  to  have  his  heart  changed  so 
that  he  will  do  right,  not  because  he  is  afraid  of  punish- 
ment but  because  it  is  his  heart's  desire  to  be  good  and  to 
please  God.  He  needs  to  bring  God  into  his  life  as  his 
guide,  his  help,  his  comforter. 

Now  as  you  look  forward  to  the  coming  century,  what 
is  the  good  you  expect  to  derive  from  the  Church?  What 
is  your  motive  in  wishing  people  to  join  the  Church?  Is 
it  that  you  wish  to  see  them  fill  out  all  the  forms  of  a  sym- 
metrical, respectable,  social  life?  Is  it  that  you  desire 
more  contributors  toward  the  conventional  objects  of 
Church  enterprise?  Is  it  that  you  wish  to  gain  an  advan- 
tage in  the  competition  with  other  Churches  by  large  ad- 
ditions to  your  roll  ?  Or  do  you  realize  that  life  and  death 
are  in  the  balance,  eternal  life  and  eternal  death?  Do  you 
wish  to  snatch  these  lost  souls  from  ruin  and  crown  them 
with  immortality? 

An  interesting  young  woman  moved  into  the  commu- 
nity once,  and  in  a  conversation  with  her  about  her  Church 
relations  she  told  me  of  the  standing  of  various  members 
of  the  family.  Her  father  was  a  member  of  a  particular 
Church  and  an  officer,  her  mother  was  a  member,  her 
sister  was  a  Sabbath  School  teacher.  She  ended  by 
saying  softly  and  with  downcast  eyes,  "I  am  the  only 
one  in  the  family  who  is  not  saved. "  I  could  not  but  feel  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  was  in  touch  with  her  soul.  She  was  not 
trying  to  conceal  the  truth  from  herself.  She  did  not  say, 
"lam  not  a  member  of  the  church,"  nor  "I  am  not  a 
communicant,"  but  she  saw  clearly  the  truth  that  it  was  a 
question  of  being  saved  or  lost.     Let  us  try  by  God's  help, 

[314] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

to  set  this  truth  before  us  in  all  our  religious  experience 
and  service ;  that  what  we  need  for  ourselves,  for  our 
children  and  for  our  friends,  and  what  we  are  to  offer  to 
this  community  and  seek  to  spread  abroad  in  the  world  is 
salvation.  '  'The  Son  of  man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save 
that  which  is  lost." 

II.  It  sets  God  before  us  as  the  sole  author  of  salva- 
tion. "Give  ear  0  Shepherd  of  Israel."  ''Thou  that 
dwellest  between  the  cherubim  shine  forth."  "Stir  up  thy 
strength  and  come  and  save  us."  "Turn  us  again  O  God 
and  cause  thy  face  to  shine  and  we  shall  be  saved. "  It  is 
just  as  necessary  to  know  that  God  is  the  only  source  of 
salvation  as  to  know  the  importance  of  salvation  itself. 
The  psalmist  says,  "Salvation  is  of  the  Lord."  He  says, 
"In  God  is  my  strength."  He  says,  "Except  the  Lord 
build  the  house,  they  labor  in  vain  that  build  it:  except  the 
Lord  keep  the  city  the  watchman  walketh  but  in  vain." 
He  said,  "My  help  cometh  from  the  Lord."  He  prayed 
that  God  would  "Bow  the  heavens,"  to  help  men.  The 
prophets  prayed  that  God  would  "make  bare  his  arm." 
Christ  said,  "Without  me  ye  can  do  nothing."  Paul  re- 
sponded at  a  great  distance,  *  'I  can  do  all  things  through 
Christ  which  strengtheneth  me."  "Paul  may  plant  and 
Apollos  water  but  God  giveth  the  increase. ' '  '  'What  hast 
thou  that  thou  didst  not  receive  ?"  "By  the  grace  of  God  I 
am  what  I  am. "  When  we  use  the  Lord's  prayer,  that  com- 
prehensive prayer  covering  all  that  pertains  to  God's  glory 
and  to  human  need,  we  add,  "For  thine  is  the  kingdom  and 
the  power  and  the  glory  forever."  Every  religious  experi- 
ence and  every  blessing  of  religion  is  a  direct  gift  of  God.  Do 
we  want  to  be  born  again  or  want  other  souls  born  again? 
It  is  a  translation  from  the  kingdom  of  darkness  into  the 
kingdom  of  God's  dear  Son  that  we  desire?  John  says  we 
are  born  again.  '  'Not  of  blood  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh, 
nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God.  Christ  said  to  Nico- 
demus,  "Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit, 

[315] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 

he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."  Is  it  repent- 
ance of  sin,  the  decisive  renunciation  and  forswearing  of 
sin  we  crave?  It  is  God  who  is  said  to  "grant  repentance" 
to  men.  Is  it  faith  we  wish?  Paul  says,  "By  grace  are  ye 
saved  through  faith:  and  that  not  of  yourselves:  it  is  the 
gift  of  God/'  Is  it  to  be  brought  into  conformity  to  the 
will  of  God  we  want?  "It  is  God  that  worketh  in  you  to 
will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure. "  Do  we  want  guidance 
amidst  the  perplexing  mazes  of  life?  "If  any  of  you  lack 
wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  that  giveth  to  all  men  liberally 
and  upbraideth  not,  and  it  shall  be  given  him. "  Is  it  com- 
fort in  affliction  we  need?  God  calls  himself  "the  God  of  all 
comfort."  Do  we  need  strength,  to  bear  Hfe's  burdens, 
to  do  its  duties,  to  fight  its  battles?  It  is  "the  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  who  "grants  us  according  to  the 
riches  of  His  glory  to  be  strengthened  with  might  by  His 
spirit  in  the  inner  man."  Do  we  want  souls  converted? 
"The  increase  comes  from  God."  Let  us  never  lose  sight 
of  this  essential  truth,  that  the  salvation  we  need,  is  to  be 
wrought  by  God  if  we  are  to  have  it  at  all.  It  is  not  the 
fine  sermons  (such  as  reminded  the  prophet  of  skillful 
playing  on  a  musical  instrument)  that  can  do  that  myste- 
rious work  which  we  call  conversion.  It  is  not  fine  music, 
nor  beautiful  decorations  of  the  church,  nor  a  comfortable 
building,  nor  sociability  of  the  people.  It  is  not  argument 
nor  persuasions,  nor  the  excitement  of  fears,  nor  any 
methods  of  working  up  a  revival. 

All  of  these,  or  any  of  these,  may  be  blessed  of  a 
gracious  God,  but  God  may  act  independently  of  any  of 
them.  When  a  soul  is  brought  into  the  kingdom  of  grace 
or  advanced  in  it,  it  is  always  because  Almighty  and  most 
merciful  God  has  in  His  sovereign  good  pleasure  chosen 
to  act  upon  that  soul  and  produce  that  change  in  it. 
Therefore  prayed  the  psalmist,  *  'Stir  up  thy  strength  and 
come  and  save  us. "  It  is  as  if  in  the  view  of  the  psalmist 
God  was  asleep  and  needed  to  be  aroused.     But  of  course 

1316  J 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

that  is  only  a  vivid  figure  of  speech,  "He  that  keepeth 
Israel  shall  neither  slumber  nor  sleep."  All  the  psalmist 
means  is  to  pray  that  God  will  make  such  a  demonstration 
of  His  presence  and  power,  as  to  make  men  sensible  of  it. 
If  we  would  have  Church  success,  if  we  would  "Stand  still 
and  see  the  Salvation  of  God"  we  must  have  the  strength 
of  God,  that  strength  which  delivered  Israel  from  bondage 
and  led  them  through  the  wilderness  and  gave  them  the 
land  of  promise,  and  again  and  again  stirred  itself  to  help 
them  in  their  national  calamities,  that  broke  out  in  the 
miracles  of  Jesus,  that  wrought  the  great  miracle  of  con- 
version on  Pentecost,  that  has  so  often  convulsed  com- 
munities and  nations  with  revival  glories,  we  must  have 
that  strength  so  uncovered  that  we  may  see  it  by  faith. 

III.  It  sets  prayer  before  us  as  the  means  by  which 
we  can  secure  the  operation  of  that  mighty  power  of  God. 
The  whole  text  is  a  prayer  for  that  power  and  it  teaches 
us  to  pray.  Time  does  not  admit  of  my  going  at  length 
into  this  lesson.  How  the  roll  call  of  the  saints  of  Holy 
Writ  would  demonstrate  the  power  of  prayer.  Every 
character  held  up  before  us  in  the  Scriptures  for  our  imi- 
tation, was  an  illustration  of  the  power  of  prayer.  Elimi- 
nate from  the  Bible  all  of  its  prayers  and  all  that  was 
accomplished  by  prayer  and  what  a  wreck  would  remain. 
Open  if  you  will  the  volume  of  God's  providential  dealings 
with  His  Church  in  all  these  centuries,  and  ask  how  much 
of  all  this  was  wrought  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of  devout, 
heroic,  and  believing  workers. 

As  we  now  start  our  new  century  with  the  two  lessons 
already  learned,  that  salvation  is  the  great  object  of  our 
pursuit,  and  that  God  alone  is  the  author  of  salvation  in 
any  life  or  community,  how  we  would  be  in  despair  if  we 
could  not  carry  along  with  these  two,  the  third  lesson,  that 
God  is  willing  to  be  prayed  to  that  He  is  wilHng  to  exert 
His  Almighty  power  to  work  salvation  in  response  to  our 
prayers  of  faith. 

[317] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

Mr.  Spurgeon,  in  many  respects  the  greatest  preacher 
of  his  age,  was  asked  how  he  explained  the  success  of  his 
ministry.  Many  another  had  tried  to  explain  it  and 
various  were  the  explanations  ventured.  We  were  curious 
to  know  his  own  explanation,  for  his  success  was  a  singu- 
lar phenomenon.  His  answer  to  the  question  was  that 
he  succeeded  and  multitudes  attended  his  ministry  and 
multitudes  were  converted  because  he  had  a  praying  con- 
gregation.    Then  let  us  pray  God  to  come  and  save  us. 

IV.  May  we  not  get  one  more  helpful  suggestion 
from  the  fact,  that  it  is  Ephraim  and  Benjamin  and 
Manasseh  that  were  to  behold  those  displays  of  the  glory 
and  power  and  grace  of  God  ?  They  were  in  the  rear  of 
the  camp.  May  God  so  reveal  Himself  among  us  that  the 
feeblest,  the  most  ignorant  and  idle,  the  hindermost  in 
the  flock  shall  awake  to  His  presence  and  respond  to  His 
call. 


[318] 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

SERVICE   IN   HONOR  OF  LATE    REV.  WILLIAM    E.    BAKER 

HELD  AT  FIRST   PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  SUNDAY 

AFTERNOON,    JANUARY   21,    1906 

A  REM  ARK  ABLE  service  was  held  at  4  p.  m.  Sunday, 
at  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  as  a  memorial  of 
Rev.  William  E.  Baker  who  was  pastor  of  the  Church 
for  nearly  twenty-seven  years,  and  who  died  at  his  home 
in  Roswell,  Georgia,  January  4,  1906 ;  remarkable  in  the 
uniform  excellence  of  the  music,  in  the  tenderness  and 
earnestness  of  the  addresses  and  in  the  solemn  impressive- 
ness  of  the  whole  service. 

The  choir  opened  the  service  with  an  anthem,  "Rock 
of  Ages,"  followed  by  short  scripture-reading  by  the  pas- 
tor. Rev.  A.  M.  Eraser,  D.  D.,  and  the  hymn,  "The  Sands 
of  Time  Are  Sinking."  The  pastor  then  read  passages 
from  a  letter  written  by  Mrs,  William  E.  Baker  referring 
to  the  proposed  memorial  service,  after  which  he  offered  a 
prayer.  The  choir  and  congregation  then  sang  ' '  Forever 
with  the  Lord." 

The  pastor  then  announced  that  several  gentlemen 
had  consented  to  speak  briefly  of  Mr.  Baker's  life  in 
Staunton  and  called  on  Mr.  Henry  D.  Peck,  a  ruling  elder 
of  the  Church,  who  read  a  tribute  to  Mr.  Baker,  including 
some  short  letters  written  by  others  who  had  come  under 
Mr.  Baker's  influence. 

The  hymn,  "Show  Pity,  Lord,"  was  then  sung  and 
Hon.  Joseph  A.  Waddell,  ruling  elder,  was  called  on,  Mr. 
Waddell  had  been  very  close  to  Mr.  Baker,  having  been  of 
the  committee  that  extended  to  him  the  call  in  1857,  and 
having  taken  Mr,  Baker  to  his  house  where  he  remained 

[319] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

for  some  weeks,  the  first  home  to  entertain  him  in  Staun- 
ton. Mr.  Waddell  with  difficulty  restrained  his  feelings 
as  he  recounted  touching  incidents  in  Mr.  Baker's  life. 
He  dwelt  on  Mr.  Baker's  love  of  children,  his  deep  concern 
for  the  poor,  his  practical  help  extended  to  them,  his  liber- 
ality and  tenderness.  It  was  a  loving  and  tender  tribute 
which  carried  conviction  of  its  fidelity  to  truth  to  every 
heart. 

Capt.  James  Bumgardner  was  then  called  on,  and  pre- 
facing his  remarks  that  he  had,  possibly  with  a  very  few 
exceptions,  heard  more  of  the  sermons  preached  by  Mr. 
Baker  than  any  other  person  present,  he  dwelt  on  the  ex- 
cellence, the  beauty  and  the  force  of  those  productions, 
which  Mr.  Baker  had  delivered  Sunday  after  Sunday  in  all 
those  years,  and  the  lofty  character  of  Mr.  Baker  as  a 
man. 

A  quartet  composed  of  Messrs.  D.  E.  Euritt,  J.  J. 
Shirkey,  R.  E.  Timberlake  and  F.  R.  Bear,  all  of  whom 
had  at  times  sung  in  the  choir  under  Mr.  Baker,  sang 
"  One  Sweetly  Solemn  Thought,"  in  a  way  to  bring  tears 
to  many  eyes. 

The  pastor,  closing  the  service,  expressed  the  thought 
that  it  would  be  most  appropriate  for  the  Church  to  erect, 
in  some  enduring  form,  a  memorial  of  Mr.  Baker. 

The  hymn  "  Servant  of  God,  Well  Done,"  was  then 
sung  by  the  congregation,  and  the  benediction  pronounced. 

The  attendance  was  large,  among  the  number  most  of 
the  older  members  of  the  Church,  and  some  friends  out- 
side, who  had  known  and  loved  Mr.  Baker  in  the  long 
years  of  his  pastorate  here. 


[320] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 

In  August,  1908,  a  Bronze  Tablet  was  erected  in  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  Staunton,  Virginia,  bearing 
the  following  inscription: 


IN  MEMORY  OF 

aaeb,  UHiUiam  CUiott  Pafeer 

PASTOR  OF  THIS  CHURCH 

1859-1884 

IF  YOU  ASK  FOR  HIS  MONUMENT.   LOOK  AROUND 

[3211 


CHAPTER  XIX 

RECOLLECTIONS   OF  FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  SUN- 
DAY   SCHOOL,    BY   FORMER   PUPILS,   WRITTEN 
BY  REQUEST 


BY  MRS.  JENNIE  McCUE  MARSHALL 

MY  EARLIEST  recollection  of  the  Sunday  School  was 
about  1878,  when  a  little  girl  in  the  Infant  room. 
Miss  Charlotte  Kemper,  now  a  misssionary  to 
Brazil,  had  charge  of  the  room,  but  there  were  separate 
classes  and  I  was  in  Mrs.  Robert  Hamilton's  class  of  little 
girls.  I  remember  very  distinctly  the  little  narrow  benches 
on  which  we  sat,  with  the  slats  far  apart,  between  which 
our  precious  pennies  were  constantly  dropping,  for  if  one 
little  girl's  penny  did  not  fall,  another  one's  did.  We  were 
given  little  cards  about  an  inch  square,  for  attendance,  and 
when  five  of  these  were  received,  we  returned  them  and 
received  a  larger  one.  The  inscription  across  the  wall  of 
the  Infant  room,  "Suffer  the  Httle  children  to  come  unto 
me;  and  forbid  them  not  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom 
of  Heaven,"  was  repeated  each  Sunday,  and  I  never  hear 
that  verse  repeated  that  I  don't  see  those  big  bright  letters 
of  invitation  to  the  little  ones.  We  sang  many  hymns,  but 
the  one  we  sang  most  frequently,  and  which  was  my  fa- 
vorite was  "Precious  Jewels."  Everything  was  done  for 
the  interest  and  help  of  the  little  ones  in  that  room.  The 
windows  between  the  two  rooms  were  raised  for  the  open- 
ing exercises,  so  we  little  folk  felt  that  we  had  a  part  in 
the  "big  room"  as  we  always  called  it.  Rev.  William  E. 
Baker,  then  pastor  of  the  Church,  came  to  the  School  every 
Sunday,  and  never  failed  to  come  to  talk  with  the  little 

[322] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

children  in  the  Infant  room.  We  enjoyed  his  talks  to  us, 
and  were  much  pleased  to  have  him  speak  to  each  one, 
which  he  frequently  did. 

After  reciting  the  Child's  Catechism,  we  were  sent  to 
the  large  room,  and  I  was  then  in  Mrs.  Baker's  class. 

Mr.  William  J.  Nelson  was  superintendent,  Mr. 
WilHam  A.  Burke  was  librarian,  Mr.  Henry  Walker,  secre- 
tary and  treasurer,  and  Mrs.  Anna  Fultz  was  the  organ- 
ist. The  teachers,  I  recall,  during  this  time  were  Mrs. 
Virginia  Thompson,  Miss  Mary  Crawford,  Miss  Alice  Reed, 
and  Mr.  Charles  Grattan,  all  teachers  of  girls'  classes  and 
the  boys'  classes  were  taught  by  Mr.  William  H.  Weller, 
Mr.  Guy  Cochran,  Mr.  Sommerville,  and  Mrs.  W.  A. 
McCue.  Mr.  Joseph  A.  Waddell  had  a  class  of  grown 
people. 

One  picnic  I  remember  was  at  Fort  Defiance,  and  one 
at  Augusta  White  Sulphur  Springs,  I  think  we  always  had 
a  picnic,  and  the  same  amount  of  fried  chicken,  lemon 
tarts,  and  cake,  was  consumed  as  is  usual,  on  such  occa- 
sions. 

The  first  Xmas  entertainment  that  I  remember  was  in 
the  lecture  room,  and  long  tables  were  spread  in  the  aisles 
and  were  filled  with  good  things  to  eat.  That  is  the  only 
part  of  the  entertainment  I  recall.  We  had  a  "Jacob's 
Ladder"  one  Christmas.  The  ladder  was  against  the  door 
into  the  Infant  room,  which  was  then  in  the  front  of  the  room, 
as  the  platform  was  between  the  doors  of  the  lecture  room. 
The  ladder  was  covered  with  evergreens,  and  the  presents 
and  goodies  were  hung  on  the  rungs.  Jacob  distributed 
the  gifts  instead  of  Santa  Claus,  but  who  the  venerable 
Jacob  was,  I  fail  to  recall. 

We  received  dolls,  horns,  etc.,  in  those  days,  and  one 
grown  up  boy  tells  me  he  received  his  first  drum  at  that 
entertainment.     We  had  magic  lantern   entertainments. 


[323] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

and  the  classes  had  banners.  One  red  satin  banner  was 
the  one  that  all  classes,  tried  to  hold.  What  was  necessary 
to  the  winning  of  the  banner,  I  do  not  recall. 

After  an  absence  from  Staunton  for  a  number  of  years, 
I  again  entered  the  Sunday  School,  and  was  in  Miss  Belle 
Bledsoe's  class,  and  she  was  the  best  teacher  I  ever  had. 
We  learned  a  great  deal  of  Scripture,  the  Shorter  Cate- 
chism, besides  taking  great  interest  in  the  lesson.  Mr. 
Guy  Cochran  was  then  superintendent  and  was  a  very 
active  officer. 

We  recited  proof  texts  by  classes,  and  woe  be  to  the 
member  of  the  class  who  failed  to  do  his  or  her  part  in  the 
recitation. 

I  was  later  in  a  Bible  class  of  Mr.  Henry  L.  Hoover's 
together  with  about  twenty  other  young  ladies. 

Afterwards  I  taught  a  class  of  boys,  under  Mr.  Peck's 
superintendency. 


BY  DR.  GEORGE  S.  WALKER 

By  request,  I  submit  my  limited  experience  in  Sabbath 
School.  I  have  been  so  situated  in  life  as  to  preclude  the 
possibility  of  personal  connection  with  Sabbath  School  and 
it  has  been  a  constant  regret  all  my  life.  I  consider  it  one 
of  the  most  important  adjuncts  or  branches  of  our  Church. 

It  is  the  root  or  hope  and  offspring  of  the  Church. 

As  its  root,  it  is  the  true  source  of  its  life,  from  which 
the  Church  is  principally  built  up  and  is  the  true  hope  of  its 
existence. 

In  conjunction  with  Christian  home  training,  its  im- 
portance cannot  be  overestimated.  And  like  home  train- 
ing it  comes  at  a  critical  period  of  children's  lives,  a  time 
when  their  lives  are  notharrassed  with  the  cares  and  trials 
of  the  world  and  when  their  young  minds  are  more  recep- 
tive and  easily  impressed  by  the  good  things  of  God's 

13241 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

word;  and  I  believe  the  experience  of  every  one  v^ho  at- 
tends Sunday  School  will  testify  to  its  good  and  lasting  im- 
pressions. 

Seed  sown  in  this  way  therefore  falls  in  good  ground, 
and  springs  up  and  brings  forth  abundant  fruit  to  the 
Lord. 

It  is  impossible  to  estimate  how  fully  it  permeates  the 
whole  future  life,  and  in  how  many  cases  its  effect  are  man- 
ifested.    To  illustrate,  I  will  recite  one  instance: 

There  were  four  young  men  who  went  west  and  en- 
gaged in  the  cattle  business.  They  lived  together,  and 
being  separated  from  civilization  and  for  want  of  enter- 
tainment and  amusement  began  to  play  cards  at  night. 
It  became  a  little  monotonous,  so  they  spiced  it  with  a  little 
betting,  which  grew  to  be  a  great  evil,  as  little  sins  con- 
stantly indulged  in  do,  and  gambhng  became  a  nightly 
practice. 

One  night,  as  they  sat  around  the  table  and  while  the 
cards  were  being  shuffled,  one  of  them  leaning  back  on  his 
chair  began  humming  a  hymn.  One  of  the  others  had 
picked  up  his  cards  when  all  at  once  he  threw  them  down 
again,  saying,  "I  am  done,  I'll  never  play  cards  anymore,  it 
is  wrong  and  sinful.  I  remember  that  hymn  as  the  first  one 
I  ever  learned  at  Sunday  School,  and  it  recalls  my  home, 
my  parents,  and  my  Sunday  School  and  henceforth  I  am 
going  to  lead  a  better  life."  And  he  became  an  earnest 
Christian. 

My  first  experience  in  Sunday  School  was  of  course 
when  a  child,  and  at  the  Old  Stone  Church,  near  Fort  Defi- 
ance, Augusta  County,  Virginia,  established  over  150 
years  ago,  and  then  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  William 
Brown,  D.  D.  I  never  was  much  of  a  school  boy,  but  I 
became  fond  of  going  to  Sunday  School. 

My  father  lived  on  a  farm  about  three  miles  from  the 


[325] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   STAUNTON,  VA. 

church.  The  children  lived  at  a  distance  of  from  three  to 
six  miles  from  the  church  and  on  that  account  the  school 
was  suspended  during  the  winter  months. 

During  the  session  the  School  was  well  attended,  not- 
withstanding the  distance  to  be  travelled  and  oftentimes 
bad  weather.  Everybody  came  on  horseback.  Parents 
came  as  a  Christian  duty  and  brought  the  children.  It  was 
surprising  with  what  interest  and  eagerness  they  all  came. 

There  were  few  commentaries  on  the  Bible  in  those 
days  and  we  had  but  few  Sunday  School  papers,  no  quar- 
terlies, no  Earnest  Worker  or  anything  of  the  kind  to  aid  in 
teaching  and  studying  the  Bible.  Teachers  would  read  a 
portion  of  scripture  and  explain  it. 

The  pupils  were  required  to  memorize  some  of  the 
Bible  and  some  good  old  hymns  and  the  catechism  was  thor- 
oughly taught. 

Another  feature,  different  from  the  custom  nowadays, 
was  that  the  children  stayed  for  preaching.  Some  and 
probably  a  good  many  of  the  smaller  ones,  would  nap 
during  the  service,  which  did  not  annoy  the  pastor  or 
people.  They  were  under  good  influences  and  were  away 
from  home  and  out  of  mischief.  One  of  the  happiest  recol- 
lections of  my  life  are  the  services  of  that  old  Church  and 
attendance  of  Sunday  School.  After  going  from  home  to 
school  I  have  not  been  able  to  attend  Sunday  School  ex- 
cept at  intervals  and  as  a  teacher. 

We  should  be  thankful  to  our  Heavenly  Father  for  the 
Sunday  School,  where  the  teacher  can  aid  the  parents  in 
bringing  up  the  children  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of 
the  Lord. 


BY  HON.  JOSEPH  A.  WADDELL 

As  far  back  as  my  memory  extends  there  was  a  Sun- 
day School  in  connection  with  the  Staunton  Presbyterian 
Church.     There  is  no  record  to  show  when  or  by  whom  it 

[326] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

was  begun.  I  was  a  pupil  as  soon  as  I  was  old  enough  to 
go  to  church,  but  I  can  recall  very  little  about  the  school. 
It  was  held  Sunday  morning  in  the  audience  room  of  the 
Church.  There  was  no  lecture  room,  or  other  room.  The 
pastor  of  the  Church  was  the  Rev.  Joseph  Smith,  father  of 
the  Rev.  Dr.  James  P.  Smith,  of  Richmond. 

I  cannot  recall  who  was  superintendent  of  the  School 
until  years  after  my  entrance  as  a  pupil.  One  of  my  first 
teachers — if  not  the  very  first— was  a  young  man  named 
Charles  Huff,  of  Winchester,  nephew  of  Captain  John  C. 
Sowers  and  a  pupil  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thatcher,  at  the 
Academy.  After  him,  my  teacher  for  a  time  was  Mr.  John 
J.  Craig,  a  promising  young  lawyer  and  devoted  church 
member.  I  do  not  remember  anything  about  the  prelim- 
inary exercises  of  the  School;  of  prayer  and  singing;  nor  can 
I  recall  what  lessons  the  pupils  learned,  but  my  impression 
is  that  we  used  the  Bible  Question  Book,  issued  by  the 
American  Sunday  School  Union.  I  am  quite  sure  th^t  I 
and  my  class  did  not  commit  texts  of  Scripture  nor  the 
catechism. 

There  was  a  library  at  an  early  date,  and  the  earliest 
librarian,  I  recall  was  a  young  man  named  William  Pax- 
ton,  a  nephew  of  Mrs.  Alexander  S.  Hall. 

It  is  strange  that  I  remember  only  one  boy  who  was 
in  the  class  with  me.  My  acquaintance  with  him  ripened 
into  friendship  and  continued  during  his  Hfe.  He  lived  in 
Lynchburg  many  years,  then  in  Richmond  and  finally  spent 
some  of  the  last  years  of  his  life  in  Staunton.  I  refer  to 
the  late  Col.  John  C.  Shields. 

From  the  time  of  Mr.  Craig,  Mr.  Paxton  and  John 
Shields,  my  memory  is  utterly  at  fault.  I  ceased  to  be  a 
pupil  in  1840,  when  I  went  to  College  at  Lexington.  Some- 
where between  1835  and  1845,  the  Superintendent  was 
Captain  Kenton  Harper. 

Subsequent  superintendents  as  far  as  I  remember  were 

[327] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

John  L.  Campbell  (afterwards  professor  at  Lexington), 
Hugh  J.  Crawford,  John  Wayt,  Joseph  A.  Waddell,  William 
J.  Nelson,  Henry  D.  Peck  and  C.  R.  Caldwell. 

Until  a  comparatively  recent  date  the  School  had  no 
organ  and  there  was  often  a  difficulty  in  regard  to  music. 


BY  MRS.  FANNIE  BAYLY  KING 

When  I  first  remember  our  Sunday  School,  Mr.  J. 
Addison  Waddell  was  superintendent  and  Mr.  H.  A. 
Walker,  librarian  and  treasurer.  I  cannot  recall  the  name 
of  the  secretary.  Mrs.  Anna  Fultz  was  organist  and  Mr. 
John  W.  Alby  led  the  singing.  The  seats  faced  the  doors 
and  the  platform  and  desk  stood  in  front  of  the  west 
window.  A  little  later,  the  Infant  room  was  cut  off  from 
the  main  room  and  the  seats  were  turned  around  to  face 
the  east. 

Rev.  William  E.  Baker,  who  was  our  pastor  at  that 
time,  announced  one  morning  to  the  Sunday  School  that  he 
would  have  a  surprise  for  the  scholars  the  next  Sunday. 
The  children  came  full  of  expectancy  to  find  that  he  had 
put  texts  over  each  of  the  windows;  and  over  the  door, 
leading  from  the  Sunday  School  room  to  the  pulpit,  was  in- 
scribed the  words,  "Hear  ye  Him."  Not  long  afterwards 
Mr.  Baker  in  some  way  was  locked  behind  this  door  and 
it  was  more  than  an  hour  before  anyone  heard  his  lusty 
calls  and  came  to  his  release. 

Mr.  William  J.  Nelson  was  the  next  superintendent 
and  Miss  Sarah  Wright  had  charge  of  the  Infant  room. 
Mr.  William  A.  Burke  was  made  librarian  to  succeed  Mr. 
Walker  who  had  severed  his  connection  with  the  First 
Church  to  join  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church. 

For  a  long  time  Miss  Mary  Crawford  (afterwards  Mrs. 
Darrow)  was  the  organist.  She  was  succeeded  by  Miss 
Lelia  Burdette  who  was  in  time  succeeded  by  Miss  Nannie 
Gilmore  our  present  organist. 

[328] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

For  a  number  of  years,  Mr.  J.  M,  Brereton  has  aided 
the  music  with  his  cornet  and  at  intervals  we  have  had 
more  or  less  of  an  orchestra  and  more  recently,  though  the 
efforts  of  Miss  Edmonia  Smith,  a  choir  has  been  organized 
and  is  now  doing  splendid  work  in  adding  to  the  spirit  of 
the  music  and  the  enjoyment  of  the  service. 

Mr.  Guy  Cochran  succeeded  Mr.  Nelson  in  the  office 
of  superintendent;  and  Mr.  H.  D.  Peck  was  his  successor. 

The  teachers  I  can  remember  are  Mrs.  Davis  A. 
Kayser,  Mrs.  Leckey,  Miss  Alice  Reid  (now  Mrs.  Plummer 
Bryan)  Mrs.  William  E.  Baker,  Mrs.  G.  G.  Gooch,  Mrs. 
William  J.  Nelson,  Mr.  Frank  West,  Dr.  Newton  Wayt,  Mr. 
John  Murray,  Mr.  Henry  L.  Hoover,  Dr.  H.  M.  Patterson, 
and  Miss  Helen  Reid;  and  in  more  recent  years,  I  recall 
Miss  Rebecca  Young,  Miss  Bessie  Young,  Mrs.  C.  R.  Cald- 
well, Mrs.  E.  B.  Lipscomb,  Mr.  Taylor  McCoy,  Mr.  Tully 
Woodhouse,  Mrs.  G.  D.  Euritt,  Mrs.  Kate  Nelson  Stout, 
Miss  Mary  Cameron,  Mr.  Herbert  J.  Taylor  and  Miss  Lelia 
Burdett.  Mrs.  R.  E.  Timberlake  and  Miss  Maggie 
McChesney  each  had  charge  of  the  Infant  room  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  and  for  a  short  while  it  was  presided  over  by 
Mrs.  Annie  T.  Peale  who  was  succeeded  by  Miss  Natalie 
Hogshead.  Following  her  came  Miss  Mary  Yost  who  was 
principal  of  this  department  for  a  few  months.  Miss 
Theresa  Haislip  is  now  the  head  of  this  department.  The 
first  secretary  I  remember  was  Mr.  J.  J.  Shirkey.  Dr.  S. 
H.  Henkel  succeeded  him  as  secretary  and  held  the  office 
for  a  number  of  years.  Mr.  C.  S.  Hunter,  who  is  the  present 
secretary,  took  his  place.  For  several  years  we  have  had  an 
assistant  secretary.  Mr.  Frank  Drumheller  at  one  time 
held  this  position  and  Mr.  J.  M.  Bratton  is  at  present  our 
very  efficient  assistant.  After  Mr.  Walker's  return  to  our 
Church,  he  was  again  made  librarian  and  treasurer. 
After  several  years  he  gave  up  the  position  of  librarian, 
but  continues  to  hold  the  office  of  treasurer. 


[329] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

For  a  short  period  Mr.  H.  Clay  Miller  acted  as  librarian; 
Mr.  Roy  Kyle  now  fills  that  position. 

The  seats  in  the  lecture  room  have  again  been  changed 
facing  south  this  time,  and  Mr.  Waddell  tells  me  that  they 
were  originally  arranged  this  way. 

Mr.  C.  R.  Caldwell,  the  present  superintendent  of  the 
School,  was  elected  to  that  office  by  the  Session  during  or 
about  1900. 

Mr.  J.  N.  McFarland  was  for  years  assistant  superin- 
tendent. Dr.  J.  B.  Rawlings  succeeded  Mr.  McFarland 
and  is  our  present  assistant  superintendent. 

Mrs.  J.  A.  Waddell  conducts  a  Teacher's  meeting  on 
Saturday  at  11.30,  at  the  Church  Parlors,  for  the  study  of 
the  lesson. 

A  Home  Department,  with  Mrs.  Howe  Cochran  as 
superintendent,  was  organized  several  years  ago  and  is 
still  maintained.  There  are  about  one  hundred  members 
in  this  Department  now  and  Mrs.  S.  H.  Bell  is  the  super- 
intendent. 

A  Cradle  Roll  Department  has  been  organized  and 
Miss  Nettie  Smith  is  at  present  in  charge  of  the  work. 

For  two  years  the  collections  of  the  school  have  been 
devoted  to  the  various  benevolent  causes  of  the  Church, 
exclusively,  and  the  Church  has  supplied  out  of  its 
treasury,  funds,  to  cover  the  expenses  of  the  School. 


ROSTER  OF  FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 
DECEMBER  31,  1908 

OFFICERS 

(8) 

Caldwell,  C.  R Superintendent 

Rawlings,  Dr.  J.  B Assistant  Superintendent 

Walker  H.  A Treasurer 

Hunter,  C.  S Secretary 

Bratton,  J.  M Assistant  Secretary 

[330] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Kyle,  Roy  Railey Librarian 

GiLMORE,  Miss  Nannie Organist 

Brereton,  J.  M Cornetist 

TEACHERS 

(23) 

CoFF,  Miss  Margaret  .   Junior  Department 

Edmondson,  Miss  Lucy Senior  Department 

Edmondson,  Miss  Gertrude Intermediate  Department 

GiLKESON,  M.  F Junior  Department 

GiLMORE,  Mrs.  J.  H Intermediate  Department 

Haislip,  Miss  Theresa Superintendent  Primary  Department 

HoGE,  Miss  Bessie Junior  Department 

King,  Mrs.  Wm.  Wayt Junior  Department 

Landes,  W.  H = Senior  Department 

Lucas,  Mrs.  J.  W Senior  Department 

Pancake,  Miss  Emily Assistant  Primary  Department 

MoHLER,  Miss  Bessie Assistant  Primary  Department 

Patterson,  Miss  Elsie  M Intermediate  Department 

Peck,  H.  D Junior  Department 

Rawlings,  Mrs.  J.  B Senior  Department 

Russell,  Mrs.  T.  H Junior  Department 

Smith,  Miss  Edmonia Senior  Department 

Smith,  Miss  Anna   Assistant  Primary  Department 

Smith,  Miss  Nettie  Waddell Junior  Department 

Timberlake,  Miss  Josephine Junior  Department 

Waddell,  J.  Addison Senior  Department 

Waddell,  Mrs.  J.  Addison Senior  Department 

Walker,  Dr.  George  S Senior  Department 

SCHOLARS 

Senior  Department 

(60) 

Allen,  Jane  McClellan  Bear,  Roger  Jones 

Black,  Garrett  Gooch  Brown,  Mary  Rebecca 

Baxter,  Horton  Crawford,  H  L 

Bratton,  Clyde  Cox,  Samuel 

Berry,  Dorothy  Belt  Day,  Frona  May 

Bell,  Sarah  James  Dixon,  Effie  Virginia 

Bell,  Elizabeth  Arbuthnot  Easley,  Bessie 

Bear,  Janet  Edmondson,  Edwin  R. 

[331] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,    STAUNTON,  VA. 


Fraser,  Douglas  DeSaussure 
Francisco,  H.  C. 
Francisco,  Genevieve  Blair 
Faw,  George  Rouss 
Feamster,  R.  M. 
Firebaugh,  W.  M. 
Firebaugh,  Annie  Florence 
Fulton,  James  Fairfax 
Fulton,  Nannie  Brownlee 
Flummer,  Lue  Emma 
Gilkeson,  Janie  Hale 
Gilmore,    Nannie    (counted   with 

officers) 
Harris,  Susie 
Hoge,  Thomas  B. 
Hoge,  A.  M. 
Hoge,  H.  B. 
Kinney,  Mrs.  Edward 
Kimler,  J.  R. 
Kyle,  D.  M. 
Lang,  Irma 

Landes,  Bessie  Wallace 
Lambert,  Agnes  Morton 


Livesay,  Edward  Ernest 
Long,  Clarence  Carpenter 
Myers,  Lititia  Marie 
Pancake,  Elizabeth  Gilkeson 
Pancake,  William  Calvin 
Palmer,  Nellie 
Rawlings  Anna  Louise 
Rutherford,  Lottie 
Speck,  Rachel  Margaret 
Switzer,  Virginia  Watson 
Swisher,  Margaret 
Silling,  Mrs.  John  T. 
Smith,  Bertha  May 
Steele,  Mrs.  Lawrence  B. 
Tabb,  Margaret  Argyle 
Terry,  George  Aubrey 
Timberlake,  Elizabeth  Hart 
Timberlake,  Nannie  Fauntleroy 
Tilman,  Henry  Overton 
Walker,  Naomi  Robson 
Weller,  William 
Wood,  Nellie  Thompson 
Ying,  Lau 


Intermediate  Department 


(22) 


Brown,  Thomas  Rush 
Crawford,  Dorothy 
Crawford,  Annistine 
Crawford,  Mildred 
Curry,  Eleanor  May 
Faw,  Elizabeth 
Garber,  Helen 
Holliday,  Isabel  Painter 
Hoge,  Charles  Kerr,  Jr. 
Lang,  Henry  L.,  Jr. 
Lyle,  Hugh  Frank 


Lyle,  Joe  Ryan 

Miller,  Mary 

Moore,  Helen  Gibbs 

O'Rork,  Lelia 

Paine,  Lucile  Howard 

Rosenberger,  James  Thom 

Tribbett,  Daisy  Ott 

Tribbett,  Virginia 

Walker,  Moffett  Miller  Robson 

Walker,  Margaret 

Yeago,  Emma 


Junior  Department 

(51) 

Brandeburg,  Rudolph  Willoughby      Bell.  Mary  Lou 

Bell,  Hallie  Preston  Berry,  Winifred  Reynolds 


I332J 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Brereton,  Edgar  DufReld 
Brereton,  Rebecca  May 
Brown,  John  Richard 
Caldwell,  Elizabeth 
Caldwell,  Allen  Houchens 
Cochran,  Edna  Stephenson 
Cochran,  Mabel  Lucile 
Cochran,  Ellen  Irene 
Curry,  Constance  Dana 
Cunningham,  John  Bryan 
Day,  Verner 
Day,  Ruth  Harland 
Effinger,  Katherine  Taylor 
Eraser,  Jean  Blanding 
Ferguson,  Milton  Winter 
Garber,  Elizabeth  Hanger 
Garman,  Forrest 
Greathead,  Robert  Newton 
Greathead,  Carroll  D. 
Glenn,  Minnie  Ola 
Hanger,  Mary  Preston 
Hanger,  Charles  Philip 
Harris,  John  Craig 

Young, 


Hoge,  Evelyn  Bayly 
Hunter,  Charles  Strickler,  Jr. 
Lang,  Helen 
Livick,  Jackson 
Marshall,  William  McCue 
Miller,  Leola  Anna 
Moore,  John  Edwin 
Myers,  William  Henry  Bryan 
Nelson,  Clara  King 
Nelson,  Thomas  Rodes 
Nottingham,  Margaret 
Payne,  Philip  Marshall 
Paine,  Howard  Alexander 
Porter,  John  Miller 
Rawlings,  Herbert  Sidney 
Rodgers,  Rachel 
Rutherford,  James  Coyner 
Shirkey,  Elizabeth 
Southard,  Monroe 
Tribbett,  Anna  Wilson 
Walker,  Alex 
Woodson,  Fred  Edgar 
Young,  Frank  Marshall 
Isabel  Nelson 


Primary  Department 


Baugher,  Meredith  Fletcher 
Brereton,  Munford  Joseph  Moffett 
Brigstock,  Horace  Dunbar 
Brigstock,  Jack  K. 
Brubeck,  Charles  Arnold 
Cochran,  Hunter  Raymond 
Hanger,  Ralph  Pierce 
Hospital,  Joe  Oliver 
Jones,  Clarence  Chenoweth 
Lee,  Frank  Marshall 
Mauzy,  Courtney 
Miller,  Harvey  B. 
Mohler,  Francis 
Olivier,  Warner  Lewis 
Opie,  John,  Jr. 


Boys 

(30) 

Paine,  Kenneth  Ast 

Paine,  Wilmer 

Rodgers,  Charles  William 

Rodgers,  George 

Rodgers,  William  Craig 

Rosenberger,  George  Spitler 

Rosenberger,  Warren  Shelton 

Sownes,  Howard 

Sownes,  Lacy 

Shreve,  Carl 

Shreve,  Tom  Harry 

Silling,  John  Ralston 

Sproul,  Hugh  Bell 

Tannehill,  Joe  Bowling 

Timberlake,  Landon 


[333] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 


Pfimary  Department 


Baugher,  Iva  Clinton 
Bear,  Katharine  Russell 
Bell,  Margaret  Kent 
Blancow,  Helen  Elizabeth 
Brereton,  Ruth  Elizabeth 
Campbell,  Ruth  Carnegie 
Cochran,  Isabel  Mary 
Curry,  Dorothy 
Day,  Rena  Meade  ^ 

Fulton,  Ruth  Givens 
Greathead,  Eleanor  Robinson 
Greathead,  Virginia  Marshall 
Hanger,  Lelia  Burdette 
Harris,  Margaret 
Haskins,  Grace 
Hogshead,  Ann  Archer 
Mercereau,  Dorothy  W. 

Yost, 


Girls 
(35) 

Murray,  Frances  Dunbar 
Nance,  Willie  Vaiden 
Olivier,  Elizabeth  Grattan 
Opie,  Eleanor  Cameron 
Parkins,  Virginia 
Shreve,  Lizzie  May 
Shreve,  Pauline 
Rutherford,  Marguerite 
Sprinkel  Mary  Jeanette 
Sproul,  Eugenia 
Sproul,  Harriet  Erskine 
Southard,  Virginia 
Tribbett,  Jean  Alexander 
Tribbett,  Mary  Spencer 
Wallace,  Marion 
Walker,  Ann  Byrd 
Walker,  Margaret  Henry 
Merrill  Gushing 


[3341 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  LAST  WORD 

I  ASKED  for  the  privilege  of  writing  this  final  para- 
graph.    Without  disclosing  the  nature  of  its  contents 

I  promised  to  assume  entire  responsibility  for  it.  My 
object  is  to  give  in  a  few  lines  some  account  of  the  man 
who  has  given  us  this  book. 

The  title  page  shows  that  the  book  has  been  "compiled 
and  arranged  ' '  by  Mr.  Arista  Hoge.  Mr.  Hoge  has  been 
a  deacon  in  the  First  Church  since  1880  and  he  has  been 
the  treasurer  since  1885.  Paul  highly  commends  those 
deacons  "who  have  used  the  office  of  a  deacon  well,"  and 
it  is  often  remarked  in  these  modern  times  that  a  good 
deacon  can  do  as  much  for  the  success  of  a  church  as  any 
one  connected  with  it.     Mr.  Hoge  fully  illustrates  this. 

The  improvement  of  the  financial  interests  of  the 
Church  has  been  in  a  very  large  measure  the  result  of  his 
intelligent,  devoted  and  tireless  efforts.  He  has  accom- 
lished  it  chiefly  by  keeping  the  Church  informed  as  to 
what  it  is  doing  and  what  is  expected  of  it.  At  intervals, 
as  occasion  requires,  he  issues  printed  reports,  not  merely 
setting  forth  the  figures,  but  also  in  a  judicious  manner 
putting  before  the  congregation  arguments  and  exhorta- 
tions in  the  form  of  appropriate  and  forcible  quotations. 
This  is  always  done  in  a  most  pleasing  style  that  arrests 
attention,  and  never  offends. 

After  serving  the  Church  as  treasurer  for  fifteen 
years  he  published  a  financial  statement  covering  the  en- 
tire period,  accounting  for  every  cent  he  had  received 
within  that  time,  showing  from  what  source  it  had  come 


[335] 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  STAUNTON,  VA. 

and  for  what  purpose  it  had  been  used.  His  modesty 
always  prevents  him  attaching  his  name  to  reports  of  this 
kind. 

In  addition  to  conducting  the  finances  of  the  Church, 
he  has  taken  the  most  active  interest  in  keeping  the  ma- 
terial property  of  the  Church  in  a  substantial  and  attrac- 
tive condition.  He  gives  his  time  freely  to  the  oversight 
of  any  improvements  of  the  Church  building  and  grounds 
and  of  the  manse  property.  All  of  this  service  he  renders 
without  any  personal  return  except  the  gratification  of 
seeing  the  work  well  done  and  the  consciousness  of  the 
gratitude  and  affection  of  his  fellow  members. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  church  ever  had  a  treasurer 
who  was  more  active  and  efficient  or  who  was  more  uni- 
versally acceptable  to  the  people. 

The  issuing  of  this  book,  so  replete  with  information 
of  congregational  (and  even  wider)  interest,  is  a  fitting 
crown  of  his  long  and  invaluable  service. 

A.  M.  Eraser. 


[336] 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Libraries' 


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